


You're So Blind

by justalongthemirroroferised



Category: Naruto
Genre: Affectionate Insults, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, BAMF Haruno Sakura, Brain Surgery, Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Haruno Sakura-centric, Non Uchiha Massacre AU, Non-Canon Relationship, Protective Uchiha Itachi, Sakura's consistently awesome AU, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Temporary Character Death, Women Being Awesome, naruto plays a small role
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2019-07-02
Packaged: 2019-07-02 05:22:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 42
Words: 262,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15789795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justalongthemirroroferised/pseuds/justalongthemirroroferised
Summary: AU, non-massacre. Sakura finds herself in the middle of a tale of political intrigue, betrayal, and the stirring of feelings that she can't explain. Tasked with a mission that could either save or destroy the people that she loves, failure isn't an option. ItaSaku.





	1. Recognition

_That’s enough blood. They’ll have what they need to run all the tests. I think her iron’s a little low; I’ll put a note in her file to keep an eye on it._

Withdrawing the syringe from her patient, Sakura smiled reassuringly at the father-to-be standing anxiously by.  “You’ll get her results within the next couple of days. I’ll send someone by for you.”

The expectant mother rubbed the inside of her elbow. “Thank you.  I really hope the results are positive.”

Nodding in understanding, Sakura capped the vial of blood and inscribed the label. “I’m sure they will be; you and the baby are both healthy. Do you need a wheelchair to help you out?”

Sakura glanced up in surprise as the clinic doors suddenly slammed open. A panic-stricken intern stumbled into the room. Sakura rose to her feet, and rushed over to support the poor woman. The patients in the room began to whisper amongst themselves, staring at the commotion.

“H-Haruno-san!” She gasped, face white as a sheet. “There’s an emergency on the ground floor! They need you right away!”

Sakura nodded, and guided the girl to an empty chair. “Mika, can you look after things here for me? I need you to make sure things are under control.”

Hesitating only enough to make sure she nodded, Sakura took off at a sprint down the stairwell.

Reaching the ground floor, she pushed her way through patients and visitors jammed in the hallway watching. The timing couldn’t have been worse, visiting hours were just coming to an end and the flood of people impeded her path.

“Umi-san, get all of these people out of here!” She snapped at the nurse on duty at the visitor desk who was standing on her chair to peer over the crowd. Sheepishly, the nurse jumped down and began to herd the spectators away.

Spotting the source of the rubber-necking, Sakura dashed down the hall pulling on surgical gloves. The patient was strapped to a gurney, and she could see the scarlet flash of blood dripping to the floor. There was so much blood; she couldn’t tell where the source was. _Please don’t let it be anyone I know._

Reaching the stretcher, she nodded to her fellow paramedics. “What’ve we got here, how long has the patient been like this?”

“Two minutes at most, Haruno-san.  Made it here and collapsed in the entry.  He’s a male, twenty-two years old, shinobi; femoral artery is slashed, punctured lung, stab wound to the upper chest.  Likely caused by a katana, or a kunai.  Laceration length is four inches.”  One of her colleagues listed calmly.

“Got it. We need to do everything we can to save him.”

Time was of the essence, she would get the full report later.  She ripped the restraining bands off the victim’s body with little effort, ignoring the knots keeping them taunt.  Pushing the gurney down the hallway, it sloped gently downwards and gained momentum.  She was fully concentrated on stemming the flow of blood seeping from the leg wound, and she darted a quick glance at the blood bubbling from the victim’s chest.

“Kira-san, notify operating room seven, we’ve got incoming and I’m going to need lots of blood. O-negative if you can get it. Get the Hokage, she’s got the new trial blood transfusion jutsu ready, he-“

She stopped suddenly, as she finally got a good look at her patient’s face.

“S-Sasuke?” She stammered, her blood running cold as she took in the sight of her dying former teammate. _No, this can’t be happening!_

Sasuke Uchiha frowned weakly at her. “Don’t…stare…annoying.” His voice was no more than a whisper as he struggled to breathe. Blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth, and she could hear his breath rattling in his chest.

He coughed suddenly and another wave of blood came seeping out of the slash on his leg. She pressed her hands frantically over the opening, trying to staunch the bleeding. “Don’t speak, save your energy!”

Her colleagues continued their course towards the operating room, and she shakily attempted to pull herself together. Loading her hands with chakra, she concentrated on boosting his platelets, needing his blood to coagulate. His heart beat frantically, as his survival instincts kicked in and sent his system into overdrive. He continued to bleed out, and she switched tactics. Focusing on the jagged edges of his skin, she shaped her chakra into threads and fed it into his skin. It closed and she let out a sigh of relief.

Seconds later, the pressure built up by his racing heart burst through the fragile restraint and splattered over the medics racing to save him. Ignoring the blood now peppered over her skin and in her hair, she heated her chakra as quickly as possible to try and cauterize the cut.

“Don’t you _dare_ die on me, you jerk!” She was almost hysterical, seeing him like this sent adrenaline through her veins and her chakra-lit hands flickered as her control wavered.  She was so meticulous about her chakra wielding that losing the slightest amount of concentration shook her badly.

“Dammit!” She exclaimed, panic racing through her as Sasuke’s eyes glazed over and his head drooped sideways. “Somebody get Tsunade-sama _now_!”

She could distantly hear herself giving orders, to keep pressure off the punctured lung, and to intubate and support the undamaged one. Her mind was far away as she did so, working automatically as her muscle memory took over. _I haven’t lost a patient yet, not going to start with him!_

One of her fellow medics reached around her and packed bandages and gauze into the wound. “Keep the pressure on it, we’re almost there.” He informed her calmly. She nodded, trying to stay focused.

After what seemed like an eternity, they burst through the doors and screeched to a halt. Sakura fumbled with an IV, trying to find a vein. They had all collapsed from constriction and she swore. Eyes on his face, she began to hyperventilate as the color faded from his cheeks and his eyes rolled back into his head.

“Can anyone get me a vein in his foot, or his scalp?!” She demanded, as she tightened a tourniquet around his upper arm. “I need that blood, now!”

“Sakura, you need to breathe. Relax and remember what I taught you.”

Sakura almost collapsed with relief as Tsunade swept into the room. _Breathe, in and out._

The medics jumped to attention and two continued to feed healing chakra into the arterial cut. She turned her attention back to Sasuke and finally managed to slide the needle into a vein. Sakura moved her hands to his chest to heal the damaged lung, and jerked in shock as Tsunade covered both hands with her own.

The Hokage looked down sadly at Sasuke and shook her head. “You need to leave. Now.”

Tsunade took Sakura by the shoulders and moved her out of the way of the gurney. Kira rushed to Sakura’s vacated position and began to work on the damaged lung.

Sakura’s eyes widened and she shook her head fervently. “No, I can still save him, there’s still time!” She could hear her voice rising, and she continued to babble incoherently. “There’s enough blood in his body from when I managed to cover the wound, if I can do it again his heart could-”

She cut off abruptly as Tsunade suddenly shook her. “Stop, Sakura! You know the protocol; you are too emotionally invested in this patient. I can’t allow you to continue to operate.”

Sakura was speechless; she stared blankly as Tsunade propelled her from the room. “I’ll do everything I can to save him, but I can’t have you here. Go to the waiting room.”

“ _No,_ you _have_ to let me help _!”_ Sakura insisted, struggling as two waiting shinobi, one of whom was Kakashi she noticed dimly, took her arms in iron grips and began to tow her from the doorway.

“I’m sorry. I need to get back in there, keep her from entering this operating room.” Tsunade addressed the guards with the last statement. “Someone find Uzumaki Naruto, have him meet Sakura.”

She shot a concerned glance at her hysterical student. “Don’t let her be alone right now.”

Sakura didn’t protest any further as Kakashi steered her away and then gently sat her down in one of the waiting rooms adjacent to the operation.

He didn’t say a word, just sat down next to her. He laced his fingers together and was still as a statue, save for his left leg bouncing; the only outward sign of his anxiety.

They sat in silence, Sakura was still in shock. As the adrenaline ebbed from her body she suddenly felt exhausted. For the first time since Sasuke had been wheeled in, she felt the urge to sob. _I thought he would be the last person I’d see in that condition_.

She lost track of time, and the sweat on her brow cooled and she felt chilled. She rubbed her eyes in futile attempt to keep her tears contained. Drawing them away from her face, she stared at them as though seeing Sasuke’s splattered blood across her knuckles for the first time.

“He’s going to die, isn’t he?” She asked quietly, tears sliding silently down her cheeks.

“I don’t know.” Kakashi replied, his voice hoarse. “Hokage-sama will do everything she can. Don’t lose hope yet. ”

“You didn’t see his injuries, did you?” Her voice was flat, her tears already drying on her cheeks. “I couldn’t stop the bleeding.”

He sighed. “I know it looks bad, but-“

“Sakura, Kakashi-sensei are you guys okay?! I got here as soon as I got the bird! What’s going on?”

Sakura glanced up to see Naruto running full-pelt towards them. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the looks on their faces. “Sakura?”

She shook her head, lips pressed together. She had no idea what to say, he would either be completely crushed or go running into the operating room; she wouldn’t stop him.

She would follow him into the surgery, Tsunade’s protocols be damned.

Kakashi put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and stood up. “Sasuke’s badly injured. We’re waiting for news; Sakura was the first to try to stem the bleeding. I’m sorry, but it’s not looking good at this point.”

Naruto’s mouth fell open, and for once even he was speechless. Turning abruptly, he punched the wall behind him so hard that three of his knuckles broke. Sakura flinched as they cracked.

He stood there for a moment, completely silent. His entire body was shaking and there was blood dripping from his split knuckles.

“How in the hell did _he_ , of all of us get so fucked up?!” He growled through gritted teeth. “How are you so _calm_?!”

“Naruto.” All three members of team seven looked up; Tsunade was soaked in blood and looked completely drained. “I’m so sorry.”

“What…what do you mean?!” Naruto stammered, his arm bracing his weight against the wall. Sakura shot to her feet, her stomach plummeting with the news.

Kakashi was still silent, but Tsunade could see him trembling. “How…?”

She sighed, shaking her head. “He’d lost too much blood already by the time he got here. The blade he was stabbed with was coated with an anti-coagulate and there was no way to stop the bleeding. There was nothing we could do.”

Sakura’s hands were shaking uncontrollably, and she felt like she couldn’t breathe. “I didn’t check his body for poison, I should have checked, he might still be alive right now if I’d done my _job_ -“

“Sakura! That’s enough!” Tsunade’s command cracked through the room like a whip. “You did your best.”

Naruto scrubbed the tears away from his eyes, and turned away. “I want to see him.” His tone was colder than Sakura had ever heard it.

Tsunade flinched, and closed her eyes briefly. “Not yet. I have something to discuss with the three of you first. Follow me.”


	2. Illumination

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura is in shock over the sudden and tragic death of Sasuke on her operating table. However, Tsunade is about to challenge everything she thought she knew about Konoha, and the people who reside there. The identity of the person who mortally wounded Sasuke is revealed.

Sakura stared blankly ahead of her as the group ascended to the Hokage tower. She felt numb, but not enough to ignore the feeling that her heart was going to explode. She was ashamed that she wasn't screaming and crying and breaking things, wasn't that what you did when someone you cared about died? She regretted not reaching out to Sasuke after he left the team, and although she'd outgrown her childhood crush he was still important to her.

Or was he?

Her mind flashed to memories of him belittling her, jeering at her attempts at ninjutsu, his holier-than-thou attitude.  _I never thought I would miss that. He was always such an asshole._

Kakashi had once found her crying, after a particularly cruel insult from Sasuke. He'd confided in her that Sasuke came from a family where siblings were pitted against one another and kindness was seen as weakness. Sakura had realised then that Sasuke simply didn't know any other way to communicate with his peers.

Then again, he'd never been a selfless person; he could be cold and calculating and only thought about himself. After meeting several of the Uchiha police force over the years, Sakura determined that it must have been a family trait.

He'd left the team abruptly when they were fifteen. Sakura had hardly seen him since; there were times where it felt like he'd never existed. It wasn't until a year later that Sakura finally understood what happened.

Sasuke had always worked to be a better shinobi than his older brother, whom Sakura had never met. He was infamous in Konoha and the surrounding countries, she could remember her teachers at the academy fondly reminiscing his school days.

As far as she knew, Sasuke had always hated him. She'd asked him once, why there was so much tension between them. He'd scoffed at her, as usual.  _"You'll never understand. You're not Uchiha, you can't even compare."_

Knowing Sasuke's skill, she knew Itachi was nothing to sniff at. The head of the Uchiha clan had decided to groom Sasuke to become Konoha's new chief of police after he'd passed the chuunin exam with flying colors. She hadn't known at the time that Fugaku Uchiha was Sasuke's father.  She'd only ever met his mother. 

Kakashi had been just as surprised as they were, but he'd taken it well. Naruto left the village the first chance he got with Jiraya, and tired of being left behind again, Sakura had begun her tutelage under the current Hokage.  _I guess I have Sasuke to thank for that._

Naruto confided in her some time later than he was sure Sasuke had only agreed to the position in order to compete with Itachi. Sakura didn't see how two brothers could possibly have such a bitter rivalry.

Glancing over at Naruto, she reached out and briefly squeezed his hand in hers. He returned the pressure, his eyes never losing their blank stare as they continued to ascend. She could see Kakashi and Tsunade talking quietly, but the last thing she wanted to hear right now was how Sasuke had died in blood and pain.

_It's always been Naruto and I, and I guess that's how it's going to stay._ She thought sadly.

They finally reached the top, and she meekly followed Tsunade into the familiar office.

Settling into her chair, and resting her elbows on the desk, Tsunade surveyed them solemnly. "This isn't easy for me to say." She began, her brow furrowed. "But there are a few things you need to know about what happened to Sasuke."

Sakura's head shot up, she'd been staring at the carpeted floor. "What are you saying?"

Naruto was uncharacteristically quiet; his lips were pressed together so tightly that they were white.

Tsunade sighed. "The blade he was stabbed with was identified. It was dropped a ways away from the front entrance."

She paused momentarily as her statement was met with rigid silence. "It was his katana that cut into him and delivered the anti-coagulant." She pursed her lips. "That particular variety of poison, as Sakura knows; is very hard to come by."

She reached into one of her desk drawers, and Sakura's nails dug into her palms. Sasuke's glittering katana, instantly recognizable by the Uchiha crest; was slid onto the polished wood. Blood covered the thin blade almost all the way to the hilt.

"You'd need a lot of money and connections to procure enough to coat a full katana." Sakura remarked, her voice surprisingly steady. "He has…he  _had_  both." She corrected herself miserably.

She'd been coached thoroughly on poisons and their effects, and she knew immediately why Tsunade was so reluctant to divulge this information.

"Sasuke was ambushed." Kakashi remarked quietly, moving to inspect the blade.

"No, he wasn't." Sakura countered, her arms crossed. "His blade is the one that's covered in the poison. He was after someone, with the intent to kill."

Naruto spoke up suddenly. "Who would Sasuke want dead? He didn't have any real enemies, but I also don't know how many friends he actually had besides us."

Tsunade nodded approvingly. "The same conclusion I came to. But we don't have to look any further for the target. He came and spoke to me moments before I received your message, Sakura."

Naruto sucked in a shocked breath, "the target killed him? Who the hell was this guy?!"

Tsunade paused. Steeling herself, she glanced up at Kakashi and nodded solemnly at the glint of understanding in his eye. "What I'm about to tell you, is confidential. If any of this information is leaked, I will have no choice but to regard it as treason. Do you understand?"

Sakura nodded, fists still clenched. "Yeah, I do."

"Naruto?" She raised an eyebrow, staring down the defiant shinobi.

"Yeah." He muttered, his jaw clenched with anxiety.

"Good. You can come in now." She called across the room, eyes on Naruto. Kakashi caught her eye and moved slightly to intercept him, should he launch towards the newcomer.

Sakura turned to watch as the door eased open and an unfamiliar man strode into the room. He was wearing an ANBU mask, and she didn't recognize his profile. The way he moved was predatory, almost feline, and she felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down her spine. There was something eerily familiar about the way he stood.  _Wait a second, it can't be…_

"Hokage-sama." His voice was slightly husky, and Sakura's eyes narrowed. There was something about him that she couldn't quite put her finger on. But she had a gut feeling that she knew exactly who he was.

Tsunade rose, and waved him into the room. "Shut the door behind you, this may take a while."

He inclined his head slightly, and settled in the corner of the room. Sakura didn't take her eyes off him, and she moved as far away as she could get. From the opposite corner, she could see every move he made and it provided her with an interception point should he try to escape through the window.

"Start talking." Naruto growled, his whole body tensed to spring.

The masked Anbu nodded slightly, and reached to remove his mask. "Where should I start, Uzumaki-san?"

Sakura's stomach plummeted into her knees as she caught sight of his face. She felt like she couldn't breathe as Uchiha Itachi stared calmly at them.


	3. Guilt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura discovers some of the dark secrets that the Uchiha clan have attempted to conceal. A revelation about the political climate of Konoha forces her to reevaluate everything that Sasuke had ever said about his family. Tsunade makes a decision that changes Itachi's life, forever.

He couldn't possibly be anyone else; the similarities between the siblings were too striking. She stared unashamed, her mouth falling open slightly as she took in the sight of Sasuke's infamous older brother.

Naruto pointed at him, his arm shaking. "What the hell?! It was you?!"

Itachi resembled his brother, with the angular cheekbones and haughty brows. His eyes roamed over their group, coldly assessing them. Sakura's eyes narrowed as she realised that his eyes were unfocused.

The majority of Konoha's police force was comprised of Uchiha clansmen. Sakura had healed enough of them to know that using the sharingan to excess destroyed the optic nerves. With Itachi's elite status, it made sense that he would have accelerated the damage. He's gone half-blind at least.

It was unlikely he was able to see details at her distance and from where she was standing; he would only be able to clearly see an outline of where she stood. Good to know.

"Naruto, just let me explain a little." Kakashi interjected, warily edging to block his view of Itachi. "Correct me if I'm wrong about anything." Kakashi glanced over his shoulder.

Itachi looked slightly taken aback for a split second before motioning for Kakashi to continue.

Sighing, he crossed his arms. "Years ago, there was talk of a rebellion, a coup d'état. From what I remember, Fugaku Uchiha was gathering his allies from the surrounding countries. I was still active as an Anbu member at the time, and we were sent on a lot of intel missions to find out what he was up to."

Naruto nodded slowly, never taking his eyes off Itachi. "So I guess this is important somehow, but what does he have to with anything?" He growled as his hands curled into fists.

"The Third filled me in on all of the case information before he died. Listen to what he has to say." Tsunade added softly, her gaze steady as she watched Naruto.

"At that point, Itachi had just gained rank as an Anbu captain. What Fugaku didn't know, was that he approached us as soon as he found out about the coup. He reported directly to the Hokage daily. We knew everything, from their plan of attack to their allies within our walls." Kakashi continued soberly.

Sakura was shocked. It was one thing to perform your duty, but to turn against one's clan was unheard of. He'd betrayed his family, and now Sasuke was dead because of him. She simmered with rage, but held her tongue. There had to be more to the story.

"The Uchiha clan, ever since the village was founded have never been overly friendly with any of the other clans. So as they began to gather allies, it was obvious they were up to something."

Itachi shook his head. "My clan is hardly a social bunch, and they are somewhat…abrasive. Which you would know, Sasuke is no different."

"Was, you motherfucker!" Naruto snarled, coiled like a spring.

Throwing a glance at Itachi, Tsunade continued. "Naruto calm down, Fugaku eventually caught wind that the Hokage was onto him. So, as you now know, the coup was never accomplished. But ever since he's always been suspicious of Itachi, just as we've been of him."

Itachi smirked slightly. "He was right of course, but I had my orders to play dumb. He and I have never seen eye to eye, especially when it came to my brother. He thought I would corrupt Sasuke against him, so he separated us when I was fourteen. I haven't spoken to him in thirteen years, not until tonight." He placed his mask on one of Tsunade's bookshelves and surveyed them solemnly.

"Your father taught Sasuke to hate you, so that when the order came he wouldn't hesitate to make an attempt on your life." Tsunade shook her head in disbelief. "Your own father was so afraid of what you knew that he was willing to kill you for it."

"Sasuke didn't know any better, it's not all his fault." Itachi muttered, shaking his head.

Sakura suddenly understood what he was saying, and the shock sent ice through her veins. That's when she saw the cut bleeding sluggishly on his forearm. The blood hasn't coagulated, she realised, coming to a conclusion.

"It's yours." She couldn't stay silent any longer.

Itachi's eyes flicked up to her, and the muscles in his jaw clenched. He nodded, rigidly.

"Sakura!" Tsunade shot to her feet. "Wait a minute-"

"Let her talk, Hokage-sama." He said quietly, waving away her objection. "Ask away, Haruno-san."

Tsunade remained upright, incredulous at the sheer gall of her student.

"How much of your sight have you lost?" Sakura demanded, fury making her voice shrill. She ignored the fact the he knew her name; she would find that out later.

Itachi raised one eyebrow. "Impressive. You've seen enough sharingan side-effects to guess my condition."

"Sakura, what the hell are you asking?!" Naruto demanded, having been oddly silent for the last few moments. "He killed Sasuke, we already know it was him!"

"Shut up Naruto. Answer the question." She snapped, striding towards Itachi. Intent on intimidating him, she allowed her chakra to bloom outwards creating an amplified silhouette, knowing that all he would see was her outline getting larger. He didn't bat an eyelash.

"About two-thirds." He admitted calmly, unfazed. "I see well enough."

Tsunade whirled. "Are you kidding me?! Uchiha, you can't function properly as an operative in that condition!"

He shrugged. "It was never an issue until-"

"Until Sasuke attacked you, and you couldn't see that it was him." Sakura whispered. "It was pitch-black, and all you knew was that he was a threat."

The room's occupants all looked at her suddenly, with varying degrees of shock. Her interrogation had taken an unexpected turn. Sakura had pieced together the truth so quickly because it hadn't occurred to them to factor in the unique circumstances.

Itachi cleared his throat. "Correct. It appears that my brother learned a few things over the years."

"How could you not know your own brother?!" Naruto screamed, pushing past Kakashi to barrel towards Itachi, arms outstretched.

Itachi didn't move a muscle and allowed Naruto to punch him squarely in the face. Naruto reared his arm back for another strike and Kakashi dragged him back, pinning him against the opposite wall.

"You bastard!" He yelled throatily, his voice hoarse from emotion. Kakashi was straining to keep him in place, as Itachi wiped the blood away from his mouth.

"I'm sorry." He murmured, standing up straight. "All I was able to sense was a chakra signature, which was nothing like the one I remembered. I didn't see him until after he fell into the light of the window."

Naruto stopped struggling, his face wet with tears. Cautiously, Kakashi pulled his arm away, and turned to Itachi. "You remembered him as a little boy, not the man who came at you in the dark. He took off and you came straight here."

Her suspicions confirmed, Sakura hugged her arms to her body. "So, you didn't mean to kill him."

Itachi shook his head fervently. "No."

She could see that he was fighting to keep himself together. She couldn't think of anything else to say to him, she then turned over her shoulder to look at Naruto.

"Does it honestly surprise you that Sasuke would go this far?" She asked dully, realising just how blind they'd all been to Sasuke's ambition.

Finally, her emotional dam broke, and she could feel tears streaming down her cheeks.

Naruto stared at her for a moment, completely stunned. He wasn't alone; the three remaining people in the room were rendered speechless.

"S-Sakura, he wouldn't!" Naruto sputtered, obviously feeling that she'd betrayed him. "I can't believe you're taking his side! You don't know what Itachi's done like I do!"

Kakashi shook his head, and put a firm hand on Naruto's shoulder. "No, you only knew what Sasuke wanted you to know about him."

Itachi crossed his arms, shaking his head. "I'm not sure you knew him at all, Uzumaki-san."

"I'm going to kill you; you're the one who should be dead!" He yelled, tears now streaming down his cheeks.

"Naruto. Out. Now." Tsunade barked, she'd finally had enough.

Naruto glared at her, then spun on his heel and left, slamming the door. Sakura made to go after him, but Kakashi shook his head. "Give him some time to cool off."

Sakura sighed. "No, but he's right. I want to agree that Sasuke wouldn't go that far, but the facts say otherwise."

"Sasuke was emotionally stunted, there's no other way to put it." Tsunade muttered, crossing her arms and beginning to pace. "Uchiha, when did your sight begin to deteriorate?"

He thought for a moment before answering cautiously. "Four, maybe five years ago."

"You still managed to complete all of your missions, while compromised. I'm impressed."

Sakura knew exactly what kind of missions she was referring to; she'd seen devastating injuries on many of the ANBU corps members over the last few years. If he could come back unscathed with only a third of his vision intact, he was a priceless asset.

"Thank you, but I can see well enough." He nodded politely, obviously relieved that the conversation had changed course.

"You're one of our best operatives; I need to make some difficult decisions for the sake of the village. We already know that another sharingan, particularly of a loved one can cure your blindness."

She was met with stunned silence. Wait, she can't mean…?

Tsunade sighed sadly, her expression pained. "Uchiha, I have no choice. I'm ordering the surgery for the transferral of Sasuke's sharingan to you."

Sakura whirled around, furious at her mentor. "No, you can't!" She gasped; shocked that Sasuke's eyes were going to be cut from his body.

The thought sickened her.

Tsunade waved away her objection. "I'm sorry Sakura, but it's the only way to repair and guarantee Itachi's sight."

"Please, don't do this!" She pleaded. "It's horrible enough that Sasuke is dead-"

"Yes Hokage-sama." Itachi interrupted her firmly. "When can I expect it to start?"

"Immediately, before the body begins to decompose. Sakura, please inform operating room three to prep for surgery."

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek so hard that she tasted blood. "Yes, Hokage-sama. Good luck on your recovery, ANBU-san." She spat through gritted teeth.

She shot one last glance at Itachi, and then turned on her heel and stalked from the room. She needed time to grieve, and for the first time in years the hospital was the last place she wanted to be.


	4. Moving On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five months have passed since Sasuke's death. Sakura and Naruto are approached about a mission that will require them to work with someone that they both intensely dislike. Sakura makes a discovery about Sasuke's death that could force Tsunade to take action.

** Five months later **

Sakura landed, one leg extended to distribute her weight. She sucked in a deep breath of air as she rose and glanced up at her handiwork. All but one of her shuriken were fully embedded in the posts opposite her. She glanced at the fallen star wistfully, wiping the sweat from her brow.  _Not bad for coming off a triple shift._

Walking over to the post, she began to yank them out one by one. One was giving her a particularly hard time and she pushed the tiniest amount of chakra into her arm. She gave it one last pull and it slid out as if the dense wood was made of butter. Satisfied, she dropped them back into her weapons pouch and glanced upwards. The last streaks of dawn were just fading away and she had the training grounds to herself.

She stretched her arms over her head and yawned widely. Flopping down on the soft grass beneath a tree, she closed her eyes.

If she could catch even just a few minutes of sleep before she got called in again she would thank her lucky stars. She started to drift off immediately, sighing in contentment. She was so drowsy that she didn't even pay the rapidly approaching footsteps any mind.

"Sakura! Wake up, hey!"

She cracked one eye open to see Naruto peering down at her. He grinned widely and flopped down on the grass.

"What're you sleeping for?" He babbled, flipping his pendant around his fingers. "I've been up since dawn and I've already trained with Kakashi-sensei and I ran into Kiba and we're going to train later and-"

He cut off to take in a giant gulp of air. "-and I'm going to teach Shikamaru how to make a rasengan. "

She closed her eyes again, and smiled slightly. "Forget anything?"

He frowned thoughtfully. "I'll tell you if I remember."

"You're chipper." She yawned. "Sounds like a good start to the day, wish I had that much excitement."

"Yours hasn't ended has it?" He raised his eyebrows so high that they almost disappeared into his headband. "How many shifts this time?"

She smiled tiredly. "Three. It's no big deal, I can sleep later."

He whistled. "Jeez, that old lady's really pushing you hard these days."

She laughed. "I can turn down shifts, you know."

Running a hand through his fluffy hair, he sprawled out next to her. "But you don't."

"Nope. There's so much to do, we're always swamped." She didn't mention that working was the one thing that kept her mind off Sasuke's death, which was still too fresh for both of them.

"Has Kakashi-sensei talked to you yet?" He laced his fingers together behind his head.

She glanced over at him curiously. "No, should he have?"

He shrugged. "Old lady's sending me out on a mission."

Fully awake now, she turned her head and narrowed her eyes. "Is she really? That's interesting."

He fidgeted with the zipper on his jacket absentmindedly. "I haven't been out in a while. She must have nothing better to do if she's letting me out of the village."

Sakura frowned. "Maybe. Who's on the team?"

He avoided her gaze, suddenly finding the blades of grass between his fingers riveting.

Sakura sat up, regarding him warily. "Why do I have a feeling she's sending me along to keep an eye on you."

He chuckled sheepishly. "Something along those lines, yeah."

She groaned. "I should probably go find out what I'm in for."

"I'd hurry if I were you. She seemed mad, like  _really_  mad." He was practically bouncing in place, he was so excited.

Smirking, Sakura rose to her feet. "This is going to be interesting. I'll catch up to you later."

"Get some sleep, alright?" He grinned at her, flashing his trademark thumbs up.

* * *

Knocking on Tsunade's office door, Sakura was burning with curiosity as to the mission. She could hear the Hokage call out for her to enter, and she pushed the door open.

"Tsunade-sama, you sent for me?" She asked warily, having avoided her as much as possible over the last several months.

"Come in here, close the door behind you." Tsunade turned from the window and settled into her armchair at the oaken desk. "You got here quickly."

"Well, a little fox let me know that you wanted to see me." Sakura replied, running a hand through her hair.

Tsunade laced her fingers together on the desk. "I'm sorry to tear you away from your work here, but I need you to go with him."

Sakura nodded, shrugging. "That's what I expected. What's the deal?"

"I certainly don't need to remind you that this information is not to leave this room." Tsunade pursed her lips. "It's a delicate situation, to be frank. We've received some information about Akatsuki movement to the east. What we know, is a smuggler who goes by the name of Raiton has been supplying them with information and drugs. He's been on our black list for years."

Sakura crossed her arms, intrigued. "So he's the middleman. Are we taking him out and why now?"

The Hokage shook her head. "We need him alive. What the previous Intel missions have been able to determine, is that he carries a scroll in which is recorded every transaction he's ever made and the details of every drug and poison he sells. The information can tell me exactly what to supply the Anbu teams with if they encounter Akatsuki. Until this point we've never been able to pinpoint his base location."

Sakura's brow furrowed. "And what about Naruto's involvement, isn't it too risky to send him out? He's a loose cannon, a great shinobi but so reckless I'd be worried to let him out of my sight."

Tsunade chuckled. "Which is exactly why I'm sending you with him, you're the best option for keeping him in line. I need Raiton alive, the scroll is sealed within his body and without the jutsu to unlock it I have nothing. Given his situation, Naruto knows the most about forbidden seals, although he may need some help."

Sakura smirked. "You know him pretty well; I can keep him from killing the target. Who else is coming with us?"

Tsunade's smile faded, and she was suddenly stern. "Two others, a small team will attract less attention. Neji Hyuuga is one, and the other could potentially cause a problem."

Sakura raised one eyebrow, unsure what she was getting at. "I'm not following."

Tsunade sighed, apparently steeling herself to answer. "Itachi Uchiha has been cleared for reinstatement as an ANBU corps captain. He will be leading the mission."

She felt her blood run cold, and her jaw dropped open. "W-what did you just say?" She stuttered, trying to understand the reasoning behind his appointment as captain.

"There are two reasons for choosing Itachi, first of all he has the most experience out of the lot of you; also he's run into Akatsuki agents before. His genjutsu techniques can also contain Naruto if necessary." Tsunade replied calmly, ignoring the fact that Sakura was openly staring at her.

"Don't look at me like that; I wouldn't pair you four up if I didn't think it was the best choice."

_Yeah, just like you thought that implanting Sasuke's eyes was the best choice._  Sakura set her jaw, determined to keep her composure. "Of course it's the best option, Tsunade-sama." She answered quietly.

Tsunade sighed. "Sakura, I'm sorry. This isn't easy for me either. I know you've been avoiding me since Sasuke's death."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest. "Of course not, I've been so busy-"

"Don't." Tsunade interrupted her suddenly. "I understand that you're angry with me, I would be too in your position. When a teammate dies it's devastating, but to have his body disturbed after death is quite another thing altogether. If it makes you feel any better, Itachi didn't want the implant."

Sakura bit her lip, ashamed that she'd let her emotions run so rampant. "But it happened anyway."

Tsunade nodded, her face set into a pensive expression that hinted at her true age. "Yes, but you have to understand that Fugaku would have taken the eyes himself if I had not. This hunger for power he has is…well to the say the least, it's worrying. I couldn't have saved Sasuke from the same fate at his father's hands. This was the lesser of two evils."

The revelation about the corrupt nature of the Uchiha clan no longer fazed Sakura. She'd spent the last few months digging for information. What she'd found, had made her realise just how wrong she'd been to trust anything Sasuke had ever told her.

She'd found evidence of crippling mental illness, coupled with birth defects and physical and emotional development complications. All of which hinted at inbreeding, and Sakura knew very well that the Uchiha bloodline or more specifically; the kekkei genkai was coveted.

It was no wonder that they married within the clan, it allowed them to monopolize the optical advantage. She was horrified at the thought of families intermarrying for centuries, it was a wonder they hadn't died off already. To say the least, the effects of such actions were devastating to the remaining Uchiha. The sharingan's abilities and potency were weakening. There were stacks of sealed reports pertaining to loss of vision, and the inability to control and maintain the sharingan with each passing generation was alarming.

She was seeing more and more Uchiha members in the clinic as she attempted to mend some of the damage to their optic nerves. If another's sharingan could prevent further deterioration and mend what had already been lost, she wasn't surprised that Fugaku would take any opportunity presented to him.

That's when she had a chilling thought.  _Oh god, there's no way._

"Tsunade-sama, I just thought of something." She said slowly, measuring her words and steeling herself for what she was about to say. "Do you think Fugaku knew that Sasuke would fail?"

Tsunade glanced up sharply, her eyes narrowing. "Sakura-"

"He knew. All along, he planned for Sasuke to die." She continued hollowly, her mind whirring to piece together the truth.

"But what he didn't plan on was Sasuke coming here; he counted on him returning home to die. His vision must be completely shot, he's nearly fifty. He needed a sharingan, and Sasuke was the easiest choice."

She glanced up, and met the steady gaze of the Hokage. "He sent his own son to die, because he wanted to be able to continue to use his sharingan."

Tsunade sighed, massaging her temples. "I came to the same conclusion; it all fits together too perfectly to be a coincidence. I underestimated Fugaku's determination, apparently. And because of my ignorance, a young man is dead."

Sakura slumped into the chair opposite her, biting her lip in thought. "But Itachi has Sasuke's eyes now. What's going to happen to him when Fugaku realises where they've gone?"

Tsunade smirked. "Bright as ever, you got to the point quickly. That's the second reason I'm sending him away, I think it would be best for him to leave the village for a while. It's too dangerous for him to be anywhere near his father, especially so soon after the surgery."

Sakura sighed. "I don't like it, but I'll keep an eye on both him and Naruto. How long is the mission?"

Tsunade shrugged. "It could take anywhere from two months to six. It all depends on how quickly you're able to secure Raiton and get him back here. I'm anticipating some trouble coming your way from Akatsuki. Be prepared for that."

"I've got my reserves, I can handle it. If Neji's coming too, we've got one hell of a team together."

Her mentor chuckled. "Yes, you most certainly do. Keeping Naruto from making an attempt on Itachi's life will be your responsibility. Can you handle him?"

Crossing her arms, Sakura stood up. "Yeah, I can. It won't be easy, but I got it covered."

Tsunade nodded, lips pursed. "Thank you. Don't blame him, would ya?"

Sakura could tell when she deep in thought, Tsunade usually slipped into casual dialect when she was mulling over potential scenarios with great concentration. "Who?"

"Itachi. He couldn't help what family he was born into. Cut him a bit of slack."

She shrugged. "I'll do my best."

"Good. You leave at dawn, I'm trusting you to break it to Naruto the details of the mission."

Sakura groaned.  _Great, that's going to be just fucking fantastic._

She nodded, not trusting herself to say anything, and left quietly. She needed some time to think of the best way to tell Naruto that he was going to be under the command of the man who killed his best friend.  _This is going to be interesting._


	5. Broken Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura is forced to persuade Naruto to take on Tsunade's mission. She decides that it would be best to tell him the details of Sasuke's death, but she never could have predicted his reaction.

"Naruto! Hey, I need to talk to you!" Sakura called, raising a hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun.

She could hear muffled crashing followed by Naruto bursting out of the trees above her, pursued closely by Kiba. She groaned as they disappeared again, their motions blurring as they furiously dodged and parried each other's movements.

"Kiba, do me a favor and kick him down here?" She called reproachfully; annoyed that she couldn't get this over with as quickly as she'd hoped.

"Sakura, give me a second!" Naruto yelled, popping above the trees for a second before disappearing again. She heard muffled yelps, and Kiba flopped down on the ground below looking extremely out of breath.

Naruto jumped nimbly down beside him, and stuck out a hand. She waited patiently as they exchanged goodbyes, and brushed the dirt off their clothes. Finally Naruto made his way towards her; she mentally rehearsed her speech again.

"What's up?" He huffed, wiping sweat off his brow, and shrugging out of his jacket. She brandished a data scroll. "Tsunade-sama filled me in."

"Great! What're we in for?" He flopped down on the grass and caught the water bottle she tossed him, eyeing her expectantly.

"It's a really good one. You ever heard of a guy called Raiton when you were gone with Jiraiya-sama?" She was curious; he'd never really talked about his travels ever since his mentor passed away.

He thought for a moment, brow scrunched in concentration. "Nah, I don't think so. What's he in for?"

Sakura sat beside him, her stomach clenching. "He's supplying drugs and poison to Akatsuki, we're on a recovery mission. You're coming along because he's got a scroll sealed inside of him that we need. Obviously you're the expert on forbidden seals."

Naruto snickered, hand unconsciously straying to his belly. "Yeah, I agree. So he's dangerous, we're just supposed to go and get him then?"

"Basically, yes. We need to get him back here, mostly unharmed. The team has four members, so it'll be easier to go undetected. We're likely to encounter some resistance from Akatsuki but I think we can handle it."

Naruto nodded, drawing the water bottle up to his lips. "All sounds good to me. Who's on the team? Tsunade said she hadn't finalized the members yet."

Ignoring her better judgement, Sakura tried to be as nonchalant as possible.  _Better get this over with._  She thought grimly.

"The two of us, Neji, and Itachi Uchiha make the team." She said in a rush, bracing herself for the explosion. She wasn't disappointed as he sprayed out the mouthful of water he was about to swallow.

" _What_  did you just say?!" He sputtered, wiping the water off his face and staring at her in disbelief.

She nodded, and shrugged her shoulders. "That was pretty much my reaction too. Tsunade wanted me to tell you, thought it would be better this way."

He stared straight ahead, his hands clenching and unclenching into fists. "Why the hell would the old lady put Sasuke's  _murderer_  on our team?"

"Um, well he's got more experience, and he needs to get out of the village while his eyes finish healing…?" She trailed off as she saw the venom in his gaze.  _There's really nothing I can say that will patch this argument._

"You're okay with this?" He growled, refusing to make eye contact. " _Why_  are you defending him? You and Kakashi-sensei are siding with him and the old lady. It's like you're buddies already."

Frowning, she crossed her arms. "That's not fair, Naruto. I don't like it any more than you do, but it's what we're stuck with. He's our squad leader, and you can quietly hate his guts but the mission has to be completed."

He shook his head fiercely, hair flying. "No. I'm not going if he's coming. There's nothing I'd like better than to avenge Sasuke, and the last thing I'll be doing is taking orders from  _him_."

Annoyed at his childlike reaction, she stood up and glared at him. "Look, you don't have a choice. The orders come from the top. You're doing this whether you like it or not. If I have to suffer through it, so do you."

"I don't like it. So I'm not going." He stood and brushed past her, heading back towards town.

"You're seriously just going to walk away?" She rolled her eyes. "You're such a baby, we're not done here!"

"Yeah, we are. I'm gonna go talk some sense into the old lady!" He called over his shoulder, and she darted over and grabbed his arm.

"Sit down, and listen up. There's more. Itachi might not be the person you really want to kill." She hissed, turning her infamous death glare on him.

He wilted slightly, and deciding it was better not to argue he gingerly sat back down. "What the hell does that mean?" He growled, refusing to meet her gaze.

"Look, I know you and Sasuke just got back on speaking terms before he died, but there's a lot of really messed up stuff going on that we didn't know about." She flopped down next to him and sighed in frustration.

Naruto's brow creased, and he crossed his arms. "Well, yeah. The Uchiha've got loads of issues. What do you know?"

Sakura chuckled, despite herself. "You can say that again. I have some information that makes too much sense to ignore. Tsunade thought it was better if it came from me."

He finally made eye contact, and his eyes narrowed as he took in her stony expression. "Okay, I'm listening."

"Basically it boils down to the fact that Fugaku's probably going to lose the rest of his vision within the year. All of it will be gone, and for good unless he can get his hands on a healthy sharingan." She replied, playing with the blades of grass she'd twined around her fingers.

"What does that have to do with Sasuke?" Naruto chewed his lip in thought. "I don't get it."

"I don't think Sasuke was supposed to make it to the hospital. My money's on the fact that it's faster to get to Uchiha compound than the hospital from Itachi's apartment." She replied flatly.

"Yeah, I guess. But why wouldn't he go back to the compound?"

"Sasuke is,  _was_  always clever. He must have known that if something went wrong he had a better chance of survival with the medic shinobi." She replied, slightly annoyed that he wasn't catching on.

"Well yeah, obviously his chances would be better." He shrugged.

"Think, Naruto. How easy would it be to subdue a poisoned, injured Sasuke? It's probably a hell of a lot easier than a healthy and  _very_  pissed off one, right?"

Naruto was silent for a moment as he processed the information. Then his eyes widened. "Wait, you think Fugaku  _wanted_ Sasuke dead?"

"Yeah, I do. It makes sense. I know he's been to see Tsunade five times in the last month to heal his eyes. It all fits together too well."

He shook his head. "Unbelievable. It's fucked up, wanting your son dead."

"Yeah, I know it's a lot to take in. The only problem is that we don't have any concrete proof, because we got to Sasuke before he did."

Naruto clenched his fists. "Well then all we know for sure is that Itachi killed him, whether Fugaku planned it or not my best friend is rotting in the ground. So I'm not going to let him get away with it."

Sakura shrugged. "I know, and I'm not saying he's innocent. Honestly, if his reputation's anything to go by, he's probably killed more people than the entirety of Konoha. But right now we just have to get through this mission. We might even be able to get more information from Itachi, who knows."

"To hell with that!" He stood up again, furiously brushing grass off his pants. "The old lady should be tearing apart Uchiha, and Itachi should be locked away. Dead would be even better."

"You know she's not going to listen to you. I'm not healing your injuries when she beats the shit out of you." Sakura groaned, "Besides, this is confidential. You can't tell anyone about this."

"Whatever, she should know that it's a stupid idea!" He stomped off towards town, hell bent on having his way.

 _Good luck with that._  Sakura shook her head in dismay, hoping fervently that Tsunade wouldn't cause any serious injuries she'd have to deal with.

"See you tomorrow at the bridge! We leave at dawn!" She called, watching him determinedly make his way to the Hokage tower.


	6. Ambush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a rocky start Sakura, Naruto, Neji, and Itachi take off on their mission. They are barely a day into their mission before they are attacked by a shinobi wielding a strange type of clone.

_She was dreaming, she knew that at least. She couldn't open her eyes, her lids were too heavy. She could hear screaming and orders being barked. She knew, that voice didn't she? Opening her eyes fully, she saw the room spinning. She registered fluorescent lights whizzing past overhead and the cold smell of antiseptic spray. She was so dizzy and lightheaded that it was impossible to think. Dimly, she registered a face above hers._

_Sakura frowned as she stared into Sasuke's dark eyes. He was yelling orders, she realised._

_"Keep pressure off the collapsed lung, intubate the other one! We need to keep her breathing! Someone needs to notify the Hokage, there's a new blood transfusion jutsu-"_

_He stopped dead as he took in her face, and realised who she was._

_"S-Sakura?" He stammered, releasing the pressure on her leg wound. "Oh god, no this can't be happening-" He was interrupted by her coughing as her collapsed lung gave a painful spasm and blood spurted out of her arterial wound. "Shit, no, no, no don't you dare die on me!"_

_She smiled weakly. "You're…alive…how-"She whispered, blood dripping from the corners of her mouth._

_"No, Sakura! Save your energy, don't speak!" He grabbed her face between his blood-stained hands. "Don't give up on me!"_

_She was confused. Why was he trying to save her life? It was her fault that he died. She should have stayed in the operating room, she should have tried harder. She shook her head sadly, and felt her breath hiss out of her lungs. "I'm… sorry." She wheezed. "I couldn't…save…you."_

_He smirked, and suddenly she wasn't on the gurney anymore. They were standing in a field, near the training grounds. He was glaring at her, his arms crossed. "Oh Sakura, you were always so pathetic." He murmured. "You didn't even try, I died because of you."_

_She stared at him in shock. "Sasuke, there was nothing I could do!"_

_He shook his head. "You always were weak."_

She woke up with a start, covered in sweat. She realised when she took a deep shuddering breath that she was sobbing. It was nearly dawn, and she scrubbed her face furiously with the back of her hand. Breathing deeply to try and calm herself down, she stood up and walked to her tiny bathroom. Turning the water on as hot as it would go, she stepped under the stream.

Yawning hugely, Sakura made her way to the meeting spot an hour later. Her anxiety was burning a hole in her stomach. Her dream was burned into her mind, and she dreaded coming face to face with Itachi, and there was a small part of her that considered letting Naruto off the leash. But regardless of her personal issues with Itachi, the mission had to be completed.

Coming around a corner and spying the bridge, she set her face in what she hoped was a neutral expression and continued on. Neji waited for her already, his light eyes thoughtful as he surveyed his copy of the data scroll. Sakura sighed in relief; at least she wouldn't be alone with Itachi right off the bat.

She waved as she came within his normal sightline, pleased to see him. He smiled gently, turning his attention to her as she strode up to his vantage point on the bridge.

"Sakura, it's good to see you." His voice was quiet, even husky so early in the morning. She set her pack down and grinned. "You too, I'm glad you're coming." She chirped, hoisting herself to sit on the railing beside him.

"I assume this is the first you've heard of this Raiton fellow?" He mused, eyes scanning the information in front of him.

She nodded, watching as the information faded away into the parchment. "Yes, I can see why, though. If he's the one keeping the Akatsuki equipped then he's no pushover. Tsunade-sama mentioned that he's been on the move."

"That's our interception point then, that window's going to close quickly. We will need to leave soon if we're to make the rendezvous in time."

"That's why we're leaving now. Where's Uzumaki?"

Sakura's blood ran cold as she and Neji slowly turned to face the newcomer. Itachi stood there, calmly adjusting his wrist blades. She was unsettled taking in the sight of him for the first time since Sasuke's death, and she couldn't look him in the eye. Sasuke's eyes regarded her solemnly.

"No idea, last I saw him he was hell-bent on persuading the Hokage to let him off the mission." She replied coldly. "Sir."

"Hm, well from the looks of things she didn't see his side." He stated calmly, tilting his head slightly towards the forest. "Pity."

Sakura turned to look and almost laughed as Naruto dejectedly trudged towards them. He looked thoroughly chastised, the swelling on his cheek just barely noticeable. His conversation with the Hokage must have gone exactly the way she'd predicted; not well. She grinned at him, and then immediately felt a sharp pang as he ignored her, staring straight ahead. He stopped at the base of the bridge and turned his back to them.

Surprised, Neji glanced at Sakura. "It's very unlike him to ignore you like that, Sakura." He remarked softly, crossing his arms.

She shook her head. "He's not happy with me at the moment, he'll get over it. He's having a hard time with anything Uchiha, especially with Sasuke gone."

Neji nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "You know that we never saw eye to eye, but I'm sorry that you lost him. Although it's not clear what happened, can I ask?"

Sakura sighed and crossed her arms across her chest. "He was on a confidential solo mission. The target was too powerful and he was stabbed twice with his own katana. He bled out, that's really all there is to it. They never found the target, he vanished."

She was still surprised at how easily the lie fell from her lips, every time she told it. It certainly wasn't getting easier, but she had been able to put her feelings aside when everyone she knew asked her about it. "How does the truth compare to the rumours?"

He sighed. "Well, if you listened to them, Sasuke fell only after killing a thousand of the enemy's forces. The truth it seems is far more tragic."

Sakura sighed rigidly. "Yeah. How do you feel about Uchiha leading the mission?" She determinedly changed the subject.

Neji glanced at the captain, who was rolling up his data scroll. "I have to admit that I was surprised, although not altogether disappointed. He's going to make this mission a lot easier than it would have been otherwise."

Sakura smirked. "Humility, Neji? I'm shocked."

He shook his head, smiling gently. "Hardly. I would consider my kekkei genkai a strong advantage, in any situation. With two, this mission could be over with half the time and effort."

"I guess we'll see." She eyed Itachi making his way across the bridge towards them.

When he walked past her, slinging his pack over his shoulder, she made a split-second decision. "Can I have a word?"

He looked at her, surprised. She wouldn't look him straight in the eyes, so she fixed her gaze on his headband. He nodded.

Following her to the end of the bridge, she turned to see him waiting expectantly. "Okay, so I don't know if there's a delicate way to say this." She began. "For the sake of the mission-"

"How much do you know?" He interrupted.

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "About what?"

"My father, how much did the Hokage tell you?" He demanded, taking a step closer to her. She took a step back, eager to keep a distance between them.

"I know that he wanted Sasuke's sight, but now you have what he wants. I also know that he planned Sasuke's death, and now is probably pissed that he was cheated out of the new sharingan. Happy?"

He scowled at her attitude. "Hokage-sama informed me that you know, have you told Uzumaki?"

"Yeah, I did. It was the only thing I could come up with to try and stop him from trying to kill you." She snapped, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "I'm not even sure if that'll work."

"That information was confidential. I will have to report you to Hokage-sama." His tone was equally cold.

She stiffened, drew herself up to her full height and fixed him with her glare.

"Look, Uchiha. I'm not thrilled either about being stuck with you, but I know my duties. And that includes healing any damage you and Naruto inflict on each other." She said in a rush before she lost her nerve. "I don't want to deal with it, so I want your word that you won't provoke him. That's all I want from you."

He didn't flinch as she angrily retorted.

His expression softened slightly, he was taken aback by what she was asking. "Yes, well obviously I won't. The mission has nothing do with my personal feelings about Uzumaki."

"Good. I'll speak to Naruto as well." She huffed, turning away from him and making her way across the bridge to where he was standing.  _That was a lot easier than I expected. I hate playing the peacekeeper; I was doing it between Naruto and Sasuke for so long-_

"What do you want?" Naruto was sulking, and rubbing his cheek where Tsunade had punched him. She shook her head, not bothering to hide her grin.

"That talk didn't go exactly as planned did it? Let me heal that for you before we leave." Ignoring his weak protests, she raised a hand to his cheek and pushed some healing chakra into the swelling. It receded instantly, and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks." He muttered.

"Yeah, don't mention it." She replied. "I spoke to Uchiha, and I know you're pissed at me but he gave me his word that he'll stay away from you."

"It's not him you should be afraid of." He growled in response, his eyes were following Itachi's every move.

"You're right. I'm afraid of Tsunade, and you should be too." She said lightly, tightening her headband. "You make a move on him, and comprise the mission and she really  _will_ kill you."

"Haruno, if you're finished chatting we have a mission to start." The cool tone of Itachi's voice made her bristle.

"Yes,  _sir_." She shot over her shoulder. Naruto's frown deepened and she pointed a stern finger at him. "You do anything to mess this up, never mind Tsunade, I'll kill you myself."

They took off immediately into the trees, Sakura purposefully positioning herself between Itachi and Naruto. She didn't like getting any closer to him than she had to, but given how the mission had already begun she was worried about the tension between the team members, never mind the target and Akatsuki threat.

They travelled in silence for several hours, all members constantly scanning the forest around them. As the sun reached its peak, Sakura suddenly sensed a huge burst of chakra ahead of them. "Stop!" She called, tapping down on a high branch. "Neji, you feel that?"

"Yeah, I did." He replied quietly, landing several branches away. "He's slightly out of my range, but I can tell he's got a lot of chakra to be dispelling so much at once."

Itachi was suddenly visible again, as he flew back from the front of their formation. "Something's ahead, huge amounts of chakra are being emitted; I'd say they're probably three miles ahead of us."

Naruto landed, and waved a hand nonchalantly. "So somebody's training in the forest, big deal."

Sakura narrowed her eyes, and pushing her own chakra into her feet began to scale to the top of her tree. "Hang on a second; I've felt something similar before."

Her teammates watched quietly as she made her way to the peak of the trunk. "Neji, are you feeling the different levels spread out over a small area? There was one large burst and now we're looking at six." She called below, sending out controlled tendrils of chakra around her. They vibrated as the chakra waves hit them, signalling her as a spider would sense a disturbance in her web.

"Yes. I think we have a situation here." Neji landed next to her, scanning the forest. "We either have a puppet master or a transportation jutsu. Very powerful either way, I suggest we move forward with a game plan."

Itachi dropped onto the branch beside her, and Sakura flinched. He ignored her. "They're moving fast, we need to get out of the trees!"

Naruto rolled his eyes as his teammates leapt to the forest floor. "I ain't movin', you guys are overreacting, there's four of us, what are they gonna do?"

Suddenly there was a flash of movement above him and he was thrown from the branch. He yelped and turned to face the shadowy figure that had attacked him. But the figure was too fast, and he received a powerful blow to the chest. Sakura heard his ribs crack, and he landed painfully on the ground thirty feet away. She could hear him struggle to catch his breath as his opponent landed lightly, and pulled out a katana. Her adrenaline kicked in.  _He's in so much pain, can he even fight?_

Sakura started forward, intent on helping Naruto, but was stopped by Itachi's arm in front of her chest.

"Get off me!" She snapped. "I'm going to help him!"

"No, you're not. Look." He replied calmly. She glanced around her and her blood ran cold.

They were surrounded by dark figures; she hadn't even felt them get close. Their chakra signature had disappeared, and the figures were closing in on them.


	7. Survival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle with the clones turns ugly, and Naruto finds himself wounded. Sakura and Itachi manage to work together long enough to survive the ambush. Naruto and Neji corner the attacker, but Naruto knocks him out a little too enthusiastically, forcing Sakura to perform emergency surgery in the woods.

**A/N: Okay, just a word of warning: things are going to get pretty graphic from here on out. Thanks for reading! :)**

Falling into a crouch, Sakura whipped out a kunai and pivoted to put the three of them back to back. Neji surveyed the attackers calmly, his byakugan pulsing on his forehead. "They're shadow clones, Uchiha."

"I know," Itachi replied, his sharingan whirring to life. "Which one is the real one?"

"He's not in this group. But the chakra signature isn't far away. He has to be around here somewhere so he can keep producing them. "

"We need to eliminate him quickly, or we'll be here until one of us runs out of chakra," Itachi said over his shoulder, surveying the loose circle of clones around them. "Haruno, we're going to need you in this fight until we take enough of them down, be ready to fall back."

"Got it, I'll wait for your order. What about Naruto?" She replied, settling her kunai more firmly in her palm.

"He'll be fine, focus on the clones. Hyuuga, watch for the real one. I want him alive for questioning, understood?"

"I just need you to buy me some time," Neji replied, his byakugan searching the forest around them.

Sakura felt a cold bead of sweat trickle down her back. There was something about these clones that freaked her out.  _Why aren't they attacking?_

They weren't moving, their katana glinting in the weak sun. Sakura saw out of the corner of her eye that Naruto had dispatched the clone that had attacked him, the puff of smoke disappearing into the air as a cold wind picked up.  _How was he able to cloak the chakra signature of so many clones?_

"Naruto, are you okay?" She called, never taking her eyes off of the dark figures.

"Yeah!" He sprinted towards them, launching shuriken at the clones blocking his way.

"Uzumaki, don't-" Itachi shouted, but he was too late.

The clones disappeared in a puff of smoke, but when it cleared three more had appeared to replace them. In unison, the clones started to attack, as if on cue.  _They were waiting for us to make a move!_

Sakura ducked to avoid a swift katana strike aimed for her jugular and smoothly transitioned into a spinning roundhouse kick with chakra charged legs. The clone disappeared and she gasped as another blade came thrusting out of the smoke, and she twisted just in time to avoid it. She threw her kunai, and her blood ran cold as she realised just how easily she might have just died.  _Holy shit!_   _This guy's good!_

They fought in silence for several long minutes, Naruto joining their formation seamlessly. The clones just kept coming; every time they killed one another would replace it.  _There are so many of them!_

The clearing filled with smoke as they killed more and more opponents, making it difficult to gauge how many clones were closing in. Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura could see that Naruto was struggling to breathe, and he kept one hand on his chest.  _Ribs, they're probably cracked from the fall. If one of them pierces a lung, he's in trouble._

"Uchiha, I need to heal Naruto's injuries, cover me!"

Sakura switched places with Neji and got to work healing Naruto's ribs. It turned out that he'd broken four of them on one side, three on the other.

She often had to stop to defend herself, killing one clone after another with Itachi's help until she could spare a minute to heal a rib. It was slow, dangerous work. One slip and the bone shards would slide straight into his lungs, but she gritted her teeth and stubbornly refused to lose focus. Finally, his bones knit together and the team resumed their former positions. In the heat of battle, she was only awarded enough time to heal the bones.  _I'll deal with the bruising later._

"Thanks, Sakura." Naruto flashed a grin at her. "Good as new!"

She grinned back, wiping the sweat off of her brow. "Just like old times, hey? I can't even remember the last time we fought together, team seven's back together-"

"Focus, Haruno. We have twenty more incoming." Itachi interrupted her, brushing past her to put her at the back of the group. "I can't afford to have our medic distracted. Fall back."

Annoyed, she opened her mouth to argue. "I wasn't-"

She broke off as Neji suddenly glanced up into the tree canopy. "I found the shinobi."

"Go Hyuuga." Itachi hadn't broken a sweat, and he wasn't even breathing hard as he killed another clone with a single katana strike. "Take Uzumaki with you."

Naruto bristled, but catching Sakura's eye, decided it was better not to argue. He shrugged and addressed Neji instead. "Let's go get this bastard, Neji."

Sakura couldn't help but notice that he ignored Itachi completely.  _Oh well, it's better than picking a fight._

"I intend to. Uchiha, we'll drive him towards you if we don't succeed in an ambush." Neji was already moving, Naruto right behind him.

They rapidly ascended a large tree trunk and disappeared into the tree canopy. Sakura and Itachi were left alone to eliminate the remaining clones. Breathing hard, Sakura waited for the right moment to strike as many clones as possible.

"Uchiha, you're going to want to move!" She strafed backwards and gathered chakra into her right fist. He glanced over his shoulder at her as he gracefully dodged a katana strike. "Stay out of this fight, Haruno. Save your chakra."

Reluctantly, she reabsorbed her chakra. "There's too many of them! We're going to get ourselves killed." She snapped over her shoulder, throwing kunai instead.  _I'm not dying because of his Uchiha pride!_

He chuckled quietly, continuing his relentless assault on the remaining shadow clones. "Your concern really isn't necessary. Look around."

The smoke finally cleared, and she realised that they were alone. She stood in silence, in awe of him, despite herself. The clearing had been filled with clones the last time she'd checked, but in a matter of minutes, he'd destroyed their ranks.

"Oh." She muttered sheepishly. Her anger dissipated, and she wiped the sweat from her brow. "Look at that."

"Hyuuga stopped him from making any more." Still chuckling, he finally turned to face her. "Uzumaki probably just yelled at him."

She laughed. "Yeah, he does that. How'd you know?"

"I make it my business to know who's on my team, and he's predictable. You already knew that I'm sure, considering you were on the same team."

Suddenly he was serious again. His mirth had disappeared, and she immediately averted her eyes from his face; painfully aware of the irony of the situation.

Her momentary joy at team seven's reunion was gone, and a sharp pang of loss had replaced it. They were finally together again, but somehow she didn't think Sasuke's eyes counted. She knew she was being rude, but to his credit Itachi didn't acknowledge her uneasiness.

She was almost relieved when he ignored her completely. He sheathed his katana and crossed his arms. The forest was silent around them, but Sakura didn't let her guard down. They stood there without speaking for several moments, Itachi looked pensive.

"Should we catch up with them?" Sakura asked suddenly, she was getting twitchy from the awkward silence. "Wouldn't they be back by now if they were able to catch him?"

"Yeah, let's go." He scaled the nearest tree, with her following a short distance behind. They sped through the canopy, ready for battle at any moment. Sakura could have cut the tension with a knife _. I don't like having Naruto out of my sight._   _Why am I so afraid?_

"Haruno, who knows about this mission?" Itachi asked suddenly, watching her out of the corner of his eye.

"Besides us? The Hokage and Anbu administration know, but beyond them, I'm not sure. Why do you ask?"

"Did you tell anyone about it? Did you mention anything at all?"

Sakura was deeply offended.  _Is he accusing me of betraying Tsunade?_

"No, the only people I discussed it with were the Hokage and Naruto. What are you getting at?" She said, clipping every word to convey her anger.

"Relax, Haruno. I'm not accusing you of anything." He sounded impatient, annoyed that she'd snapped at him. "I find it strange that we've barely been on this mission for half a day and we're already being attacked."

He was staring straight ahead, his eyes narrowed "Someone either wants to sabotage our chances of intercepting Raiton, or they're after something else. The timing's too convenient."

Raising an eyebrow, Sakura was surprised to find that she agreed with him. "Why do I get the feeling that you mean they're after  _someone_ , not something?"

"Exactly, someone is right."

"Fugaku doesn't strike me as the type who would send an assassin after you again, not after what happened with the last one." She deliberately avoided using Sasuke's name.

He smirked. "Not that I wouldn't put it past my father, but I meant Uzumaki. Akatsuki have been known to attempt to capture biju. We're pretty isolated out here."

"Oh. Yeah, of course, you're right." Sakura flushed, embarrassed that she'd assumed he was talking about himself. He definitely confused her, with his odd formality one moment and random flashes of mirth the next. "We'll see when we catch up to them what we're dealing with."

"Yeah, there's no use speculating." He was parallel to her now, on the next branch over. "But if my father does decide to attack me, I'll handle it. It's better if you don't get involved."

She shook her head. "It's no use; he definitely knows that I was in the operating room with Sasuke. I'm involved no matter what. I'm not a fan of the situation, but I can handle myself."

"Not against Uchiha." He murmured, quiet but forceful. She flinched at his tone, suddenly reminded of Sasuke.

"Of course, I forgot how pitiful we all are compared to the Uchiha." She muttered.

Her voice was surprisingly steady, but her tone was filled with so much venom that she even surprised herself.  _Whoa, where did that come from?_

"That's not what I meant."

Sakura was suddenly ashamed that she was letting her personal feelings get the best of her. He was her squad captain; he commanded respect.  _Don't be childish, Sakura._

"Uchiha-"

Before she could apologize, he pointed to a clearing up ahead. "There they are, keep your guard up."

They landed on a branch, and he held out a hand for her to wait. He then reached into his pack and pulled out an ANBU mask, and after settling it over his face he nodded at Sakura. "Best we don't sneak up on them."

"Yeah." She replied. She didn't see any signs of fighting, and she nearly sagged with relief as Naruto walked into view. They took off towards the clearing without another word.

"Naruto, what happened?" Sakura called when they were within earshot.

They dropped from the treetops, landing by their teammates. Naruto glared at Itachi, but Sakura couldn't see any outward reaction from the Uchiha.

"Hey, Sakura! What took so long?" Naruto grinned, ruffling his hair up. "We were waiting for ya!"

"Apologies, Uchiha." Neji sighed, gesturing at the hog-tied assassin at his feet. "He was troublesome, took us an unnecessarily long time to knock him out."

Itachi inspected the assassin, eyes thoughtful. "Did you manage to catch him by surprise?"

"Yes, but his reaction time was impressive. He had some unusual speed for someone who'd already expended so much chakra. Naruto had to produce clones to trap him."

Itachi took off his mask; there was no need for anonymity when the target was unconscious. He inspected the still body on the ground, taking note of the large head wound that was visibly swollen on the right side. "Uzumaki hit him too hard; I don't want Haruno to waste any chakra healing him."

"He'll be fine; you don't know what you're talking about!" Naruto retorted, avoiding Sakura's glare.

Itachi ignored him and turned to Sakura. "How much time do we have before he wakes up?"

She stepped closer and inspected the wound up close. Prodding gently, she could feel his bone shifting slightly, puckered out from the pressure on his brain.  _He's got a broken skull, plus major_   _swelling in the frontal cortex. I'll need to bore into the skull to relieve the pressure._

"Hm, if he wakes up at all. He's got some severe brain swelling. I'll relieve the pressure, but that's about all I can do at this point. We should wait for a couple of hours, and if he doesn't wake up on his own, I'll have to intervene to prevent any further brain damage." She replied, already rummaging through her medical pouch for a large bore needle.

"I sort of kicked him in the head when he was running away, and he hit the ground pretty hard," Naruto said sheepishly, fiddling with his jacket zipper. "Sorry, Sakura."

Sakura sighed. "It's okay, Naruto. He'll be fine for now."

"How much chakra does he have left? I don't want any surprises when we wake him up. Given how much chakra he was using when we sensed his jutsu, I'd prefer him to be defenseless." Itachi started pacing, his expression unreadable.

"I've disabled his chakra points; we shouldn't have any further issues with his ninjutsu," Neji replied, settling into a comfortable position on the ground. He concentrated for a moment, his byakugan moving ever so slightly. "There's minimal movement in his chakra streams, he's not going to be a danger to us."

Sakura spread out a canvas sheet and lay the shinobi down, the bore needle in her hand. "With this much brain damage, I'm not ever sure if he'll be able to talk. Hand signals are definitely out."

"Can you heal the damage?" Itachi asked, finally he'd stopped pacing and was watching her with interest.

"Probably, I need to take a closer look, though. Naruto, can you find me a rock? Preferably a smooth one, I don't want it to chip."

"Yeah, a big one?" He replied, bending over to help her move the assassin into a more stable position. They adjusted the ropes on his bindings so that he was no longer bowed, but could lie flat.

"Probably about five pounds, I need to use it as a hammer for his skull."

Naruto paled, staring at her in horror. "A h-hammer?"

She laughed, inspecting the skull for the best entry point to prise off a piece of bone. "Yes, a hammer. I need to take a flap of his bone out so I can heal the swelling. I don't have a drill, so a rock is going to have to do."

Naruto stood up suddenly, looking very green. "Coming right up." He wasn't quite out of earshot, and Sakura could hear him muttering away to himself.

"Ugh, that's so  _gross_!

She couldn't help it, she giggled as she watched him frog-march out of the clearing. Itachi crouched down near her, and she ignored him as best she could. Preparing for surgery was always stressful and time-consuming, the last thing she needed was the added pressure of someone watching her every move.

"What, Uchiha?" She finally couldn't stand it anymore, she looked up from her inspection of the head wound and glared defiantly at him.

"Hn?" He'd been so focused on what she was doing that the sudden question had surprised him.

"You have questions." She returned to shaving the assassin's head, the wound was slowly becoming more visible. She tsked, surveying the damage that had been hidden by the shinobi's thick hair.  _The right half of his head is nearly crushed. Thanks a lot, Naruto._

"Have you done this before?"

"Nope." She didn't even have to look at him to know that his eyes had widened in shock.

"You've never performed this procedure, and you're choosing  _now_  to experiment?" He nearly growled at her, standing up and crossing his arms.

"I've done it before, just not in these conditions. Do you want him alive and able to answer questions or not?" She replied peevishly. "Tsunade gave you an assessment of my abilities, right?"

"Yes." He snapped. "But nowhere did she mention that you like to take chances in the field."

"Why do you think she chose me for this mission?" She snapped back, losing her patience. "I do what needs to be done, and if I wasn't here to make this call you would have a dead rogue shinobi on your hands and more questions than answers!"

He glared at her. "If you kill him, his blood is on your hands."

"Fine, go on and report me if that happens. In the meantime, how well do you know pressure points?" She continued, glossing over their argument as she went into full on medic mode.  _I'm running out of time._

He seemed slightly taken aback, and as he crouched down near her, she noticed that he was back to his normal, expressionless self. "I know some of them, although Hyuuga is far more qualified than I am."

"The problem is that I need both of you to help. I need the two of you to hit four pressure points to alleviate the pain. The problem is that he might have a physical reaction when I start cracking his skull open."

"He might?" Itachi raised an eyebrow, looking faintly amused.

"Depends on how much damage he sustained to his spinal cord. His body might freak out and start trashing; if I move even a millimetre off trajectory, he's dead."

"And if his spinal cord is completely severed, he feels nothing."

"Exactly." She was digging around in her pack and came out with what appeared to be four silver thimbles. "These can help with the channeling of focused chakra, I need you guys to hit the pressure points with as steady a chakra stream as you can."

Neji, who had remained silent through this entire exchange, finally spoke up. "I know which ones you're referring to. It shouldn't be a problem to sustain the pressure, with the two of us. What about Naruto?"

It was Itachi who replied. "He'll keep watch. We can't be out in the open without someone to alert us to danger. I doubt this guy was working alone."

"I agree. How long will this procedure take, Sakura?"

She sighed, shrugging her shoulders. "Hopefully no longer than an hour, two at most."

Itachi nodded. "We'll get started as soon as Uzumaki returns, if you're ready, Haruno?"

"Yeah, I'm good. This is going to be extremely gross, just warning you now." She was grim, aware that even the most hardened shinobi could have an extreme reaction to visible brain matter.

"Won't be a problem." Itachi knelt down beside her; taking the two thimbles that Sakura offered him. "Where are the pressure points?"

"Here and here." She showed him, they lay six inches apart on the inner arm. Neji nodded, she wasn't worried about him being able to find them. The tricky part would be to keep the pressure steady, and not waver until she was inside the skull.  _The brain doesn't contain any nerves, but I'm going to need them for the replacement of the skull and skin._

She saw Naruto returning, and a trickle of anxiety entered her thoughts. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself and reached out for the rock Naruto handed her.  _You can do this, Tsunade chose you for a reason._ She told herself sternly, forcing her uneasiness away and concentrating on the task at hand.

"Uzumaki, you're on guard duty. " Itachi said bluntly. "This may take a while; alert us if you need to switch out."

"Whatever, it's not like I wanted in on a surgery." He pouted, and Sakura chuckled.

"If we get another chance, you can help." She promised, hoping she wouldn't have to make good on that statement. "Thanks for the rock!"

Glancing at the giant needle in her hand, and back to the skull, Naruto was looking extremely grossed out. Sakura wouldn't be surprised if he was fighting the urge to gag. "Yeah sure, whatever you say."

He pulled out a kunai and settled on a nearby tree stump, scanning the forest.

"Okay, let's get started. Pressure points activated now, please. " She heard herself say, as she placed the needle on the top of the skull. She brought the rock down on the blunt end with the tiniest amount of force she could manage.

The sound of bone cracking echoed through the clearing.


	8. Pawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Sakura performs complicated surgery, Naruto has a flashback.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you for reading! Just as an extra warning, things are going to get fairly graphic from here on out. Please don't forget to leave a comment! :)

Getting into the skull was the easy part; it was the intricate work that lay ahead that was making her nervous. Tapping gently around the crushed area of the skull, she started to gently remove the shards. Once she'd cleared most of the bone from around the cavity, she shaped her chakra into a jagged edge.

Working feverishly, she shaved the edges of the incision, removing any shards of bone that would damage the tissue further. Catching the bone dust in her hand, she gently deposited it into a small bag. Manipulating her chakra into a sphere, she then placed pressure on the brain tissue.

"Okay, you can stop with the pressure points." She began to line up the bone fragments in order on a small piece of canvas beside her. "This is when it gets hard; I need you to be ready to press them again if something goes wrong."

"If something goes wrong?" Itachi didn't sound suspicious for once, only curious.

"I'm using my chakra to keep the brain in place, but the second I take it away it's going to balloon out of the cavity. I'm going to reverse his chakra flow so that there isn't going to be any clotting or bleeding that I have to worry about. But if I can't get the blood flowing again, I'm going to have to manually pump his heart until his body can get oxygen."

"You're going to crack open his chest, in the middle of the forest?" Neji sounded faintly amused.

"Not if I can avoid it. Can you watch his pathways and let me know when they slow down and change direction? I'm basically putting his chakra and blood on a bypass."

"Yes, I'll let you know. But won't that kill him?"

"No, the issue with this sort of thing is that the brain can't survive without oxygen. I'm literally inside the brain right now, so I can pump oxygen in with enough chakra to force it through the bloodstream, keeping his organs from shutting down."

"Interesting. Tsunade-sama certainly taught you well." Neji awarded her with a rare smile.

"We'll see. You can say that if I get this right. Uchiha, you'll be looking at his eyes." She opened the shinobi's eyelids with her free hand and motioned for Itachi to move closer.

"They're lovely." He remarked dryly, smirking as he adjusted his position.  _How ironic._

She smiled slightly but pulled her focus back to the task at hand. "I have a flashlight in my pack; I need you to check to make sure that he has a pupillary response. If there's still an issue with the brain they won't dilate."

"If they don't respond, he's useless to us," Itachi said flatly, settling into a comfortable position.

She felt a flash of annoyance at his disregard for the shinobi's life.

"Yeah, he's brain-dead if that happens. I don't know how long this is going to take, but I'll do my best."

"Good, it's your call as to when you think you can stop. If it's no good, don't waste your chakra." He murmured, looking up at her through his bangs.

"I'll keep you posted."

She settled back into her position and took a deep breath. "Okay, I'm going to get started on the swelling."

Sakura slowly removed her hand from the skull cavity and watched as the brain began to swell out of the hole as the pressure was released. He heard Itachi suck in his breath in surprise as the brain expanded like a balloon.

"Incredible." He murmured, almost too quietly for her to hear.

Surprised at the size of the swelling, Sakura had to force down the tidal wave of nausea that threatened to engulf her as the smell of brain matter reached her nostrils.

"You're going to want to avoid breathing through your nose." She said flatly.

Neji peered at the top of the shinobi's head, his byakugan pulsing on his forehead. "Whenever you're ready, Sakura."

She nodded, and placed her hands above the skull, encircling the swollen tissue. Closing her eyes, she reached into the chakra pathways in the head above the brow bone. Finding the right junction, she pushed her chakra into the nodes that lined the stream. Immediately she began to sweat as the chakra stream remained resistant to her gentle probing.  _I shouldn't have this much trouble._

Probing deeper, she found the source of the issue. The shinobi's chakra signature was opposite to her own, it was no wonder that his body was resisting an intruder.

Stubbornly, she pushed harder and felt a flicker of triumph as she entered into his pathway. Focusing all of her mental efforts, she hardened her chakra and  _pushed._ Immediately, she could feel it working as her chakra no longer met any resistance. She twisted now, jerking her wrists in the opposite direction, stopping the chakra flow in its tracks.

"How's the flow, Neji?" She was breathing hard already; the amount of effort it took to control two opposing kinds of chakra was staggering.

"They aren't moving anymore," Neji said, settling back on his heels.

"Good."

From Naruto's point of view, Sakura just looked like she was waving her hands around. Examining her hands a little closer, he realised what she was working on. His stomach turning, he quickly looked away.  _Ugh, give me blood and guts any day._

His gaze settled once more on Itachi, and he felt a flash of intense dislike. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he willed himself to calm down. Given his last conversation with Tsunade, he knew now that his anger wasn't exclusive to Itachi. He was disappointed in himself, for being so blind as to miss what was happening with the Uchiha clan. He couldn't help but blame himself for Sasuke's death.  _If I'd just tried harder to be his friend, he wouldn't have left us in the first place._

He had to rise above his feelings about Itachi if he wanted to protect the people he loved. There were fewer and fewer of them left as he got older, and he'd be damned if he let anything happen to his best friend. Glancing once more at Sakura, he recalled the previous night's confrontation. He was bursting at the seams; he didn't like keeping secrets from her. He mulled over his new information, regretting the promise he'd made to Tsunade.

** 17 Hours Previously: **

_He slammed the door to the Hokage's office open, a protesting Shizune hot on his heels._

_"What the hell do you think you're playing at, Tsunade?!" He roared, realising too late that the office was empty. "Oh. Where'd she go?"_

_"You're so out of line, you're lucky she wasn't in here! Seriously, Naruto, you're so disrespectful!"_

_Shizune's hand shot out and she grabbed him by the scruff of the neck. "You can't just waltz in here and scream at the Hokage! She'll probably murder you!"_

" _Ow! Shizune, cut it out!" He struggled, and finally wrenched himself free of her grip. "I have to talk to her, she can't make me go-"_

_"Shut up, both of you, all this yelling is making my head hurt." Tsunade's reproachful tone made both of them freeze. Slowly, they turned to see her entering the tower from the stairwell door._

_They both stared at her for a long time, until she brandished the bottle she was holding. "Sake is the only thing that'll fix my hangover."_

_She strode past them, and Naruto glanced at Shizune, eyebrow raised. She shrugged, stepping away from him and making her way back to her desk. Tsunade paused as she opened the door to her office. "Come on, let's get this over with. Get in here."_

_Naruto followed her inside, and she gestured for him to sit down in the chair in front of her desk as she rummaged around in a drawer._

_"Sit." Tsunade clattered around and finally produced two drinking cups._

_He sat, and she placed a small cup in front of him, filling it to the brim with alcohol._

_"No thanks." He said stiffly, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair._

_"Trust me; you're going to want a drink after this conversation." She raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a knowing look as she filled her own cup._

_They drank in silence for a few moments, the burning liquid settling comfortably in Naruto's stomach._

_It was Tsunade who spoke first. "So, why were you trying to break down my office door?"_

_Emboldened by the sake, he didn't bother to choose his words carefully._

" _I came here to tell you that I won't play your little game." Naruto knew he sounded childish, but he pressed on. "You're crazy. Itachi is going to regret it if we're on a mission together."_

_Tsunade paused, her cup halfway to her mouth, and her steely blue eyes fixed him with a glare so cold that he wilted slightly. "You idiot."_

_She spoke quietly, but her tone sent a cold shiver down his spine. "You couldn't kill Itachi, and we both know it." There was a hint of mirth in her tone, and that sent Naruto over the edge of fury._

_"What the fuck do you know?!" He hissed, slamming his cup down on her desk so hard that it shattered, spraying them both with sake._

_He sprang to his feet, pointing angrily at her. "You sit up here in this office and pretend that nothing is wrong! I'm sick of it; you don't care about anything but yourself!"_

_She didn't flinch but continued to regard him with a disapproving stare. "Sit down."_

_"No! You don't understand anything! My best friend is dead because of him-"_

_"You think I don't understand?" She leapt to her feet, drawing herself up to her full height._

_"Orochimaru murdered the man who was like a father to me; do you think I've forgotten how Sarutobi died?"_

_She was yelling right back at him now, and he noticed the glistening of angry tears in her eyes before she turned away and sat back down in her armchair. "Naruto, do you honestly think that you're the only one in pain? Have you even considered how Sakura feels?"_

_That shut Naruto up, and he looked at her helplessly as she sighed and refilled her cup. "It's pointless to focus on revenge, at least for the moment. You've got bigger problems to deal with."_

_Slowly, his flash of anger dissipating, Naruto sat back down. "Okay, so what should I be focused on?"_

_"Sakura told you my suspicions about Sasuke's death, didn't she?"_

_"Yeah, she said something about how Fugaku planned for Sasuke to die. You don't actually think that's true, do you?"_

_Something in her grim expression answered his question. "You've got to be kidding me."_

_"I wish I were." She replied, shaking her head. "It's likely, knowing him."_

_"Fugaku isn't that stupid, and Sasuke was his favorite son."_

_"But Sasuke couldn't be his heir as long as Itachi was alive, he was never publicly disowned. Either Fugaku would be able to rid himself of Itachi via assassination, or he took advantage of a wounded, poisoned Sasuke who failed to kill Itachi. If Sasuke died in the Uchiha compound, it would be the excuse he needed to get rid of Itachi."_

_"Okay, but he and Itachi were estranged, how would that work?"_

_"He could claim the body, as is his fatherly right, and take the eyes, no matter which son it was. It's a brilliant plan." Tsunade admitted grudgingly, crossing her arms._

_For once, Naruto had nothing to say. "But Sasuke died here."_

_"Yes, he did, meaning that the chance to awaken an eternal mangekyou is gone. That's what Fugaku needed."_

_"So how do you know that he needs it?"_

_"He comes to see me several times a month; he's got maybe a half a year before he goes completely blind. That's a generous estimate."_

_Naruto knew that both Sasuke and Itachi had awakened the mangekyou. He wasn't sure how Itachi had done it, but Sasuke had witnessed the grisly death of his mother shortly before he'd left the team._

_"Did Fugaku awaken Sasuke's mangekyou on purpose?" He asked bluntly, he couldn't shake a gut feeling that he already knew the answer to his question._

_"That's not something I wanted to investigate. To answer your question, yes. But he did love his wife, so I don't know." Tsunade mused, tapping her chin with one finger. "It would make sense, though, he may have arranged for something to happen to her."_

_"It isn't out of character then." Naruto was shaking his head, finally realising that the situation was very serious._

_"Not at all, you hit the nail on the head. I didn't know you had it in you to be so observant, kid." She smirked, her eyebrows raised over the rim of her cup as she drank deeply._

_He felt a flash of pride, and he sat up a little straighter. "It doesn't change how I feel about Itachi, but you were right. There's far more going on here."_

_"It gets worse. We found the body of Shisui Uchiha washed up on the west river bank last night. He didn't have any eyes, Naruto."_

_Naruto raised his eyebrows. "Shisui? I thought he was still in Suna?"_

_"So did I, although apparently, he got back two days ago. And then he shows up dead, it can only mean one thing."_

_"Sasuke hated him, so I really don't know much about the guy."_

_"He was very close to Itachi when they were children. It would have been easier for Sasuke to go after Shisui than Itachi, but Itachi was the better target. Proximity wise, as well as his sharingan abilities, he was ideal."_

_"Yeah, okay." Naruto was fighting to keep his curiosity in check, knowing that she would explain why she was being so cryptic when the moment was right._

_She sighed, and moved out of her chair, closing all of the blinds to her office windows. Finally settling back down, she pulled a large file folder out of her desk and handed it to Naruto._

_"It contains all of the information we have on the sharingan users currently living in the land of Fire. There are some interesting patterns that emerge when you compare it with our death records. The Uchiha survival rate is alarmingly low among the shinobi population."_

_"I'm not sure what you're getting at." Naruto shrugged, and opened the folder, scanning the pages as she talked._

_"Look at the numbers. Out of every hundred Uchiha shinobi, only seventeen of them are over the age of fifty-five. That means that eighty-three percent of their generation died well before their life expectancy. The ones that do live, are oddly powerful, and make up our police, ANBU, and military forces. That's incredibly low, even when you factor in the numbers of non-Uchiha that die in the shinobi population."_

_"You think they're killing each other for sharingan transferral?"_

_"Yes. The thing is, the sharingan transferral is a tricky process, and it's got a lot of very specific criteria in order for it to work."_

_"I know the basics. They have to be a family member, right?" His mind was whirring, putting all of the pieces into place. "Fugaku had two sons with powerful sharingan abilities, so why is Shisui mixed up in this?"_

_"For some reason, it also seems to account for the immediate extended family as well. Shisui is Fugaku's nephew, the son of his brother."_

_"This is insane, you think that since Fugaku's going blind, he plotted for his heir to die and then when it didn't work he killed his nephew."_

_"Well, his brother is already dead. Shisui was his favorite nephew; they've worked closely over the years on a lot of missions." She continued, pulling out another large file folder. "Fugaku has a lot to lose, he's the chief of our police force, and he's the head of a clan with a powerful kekkei genkai. He's desperate for a foothold on his power."_

_"Still, this is so nuts. Where does the mission fit into all of this?"_

_"I told Sakura that she was going along to keep an eye on you, but that wasn't exactly true." Tsunade looked at him very directly, making him a little bit nervous._

_"Huh?" Naruto scrunched up his eyebrows in confusion. "What do you mean?"_

_"I'm sending you to protect Sakura, and by extension, Sasuke's eyes." She swigged the rest of her drink and poured herself yet another refill._

_He was speechless; for once he had nothing to say. His mouth hung open in shock, making him look about five years old. Tsunade would never admit it, but she was fond of him. Therefore, he was someone that she could count on; she had to trust that he could carry out the task ahead of him._

_"You have more chakra than anyone I know, plus you have some experience sparring with Uchiha. You know what they're capable of. I have it on good authority that Raiton is an Uchiha operative, which has to stay between the two of us." She pointed a stern finger at him, her eyes steely. "You're responsible for making sure that nothing happens to Sakura."_

_"Are you expecting trouble from the Uchiha? She doesn't know about this, right?"_

_"She can't know, otherwise, it'll compromise her ability to be an objective medic on the mission. Yes, they'll likely be coming for Itachi, but she'll be in the line of fire."_

_"Holy shit. I can't tell her about any of this?"_

_"Nothing whatsoever, and Itachi doesn't know that Shisui is dead either. I'd like to be the one to tell him. I want your word as a shinobi that you will keep this information to yourself." She was completely serious, he hadn't realised the stakes of the situation until that exact moment. She took advantage of the silence to pour another drink._

_"Okay, I give you my word." He muttered, waving a hand in her direction. "You gonna drink all of that by yourself?"_

_She smirked and then placed another cup in front of him after digging in her desk for a moment. He raised his eyebrows at the small tower of them she appeared to keep handy._

_"What? I break a lot of them when I'm drunk." She grunted at him. "There's one more thing you should know."_

_"I'm sure it won't surprise me at this point." He replied, leaning back in his chair._

_"Sasuke's grave was disturbed two weeks after his burial."_

_"What?! " Naruto was incredulous, and he sprang up from the chair. Starting to pace, he glared accusingly at Tsunade. "Why didn't you say anything?"_

_"Because you'd make a fuss, that's why. I left a failsafe in place; I knew something like this was going to happen. I implanted a pair of eyes back into Sasuke's body, the same colour as his natural eyes."_

_"They're gone, aren't they?" His blood was boiling, and he clenched and unclenched his fists in frustration. "You buried him with eyes so that Fugaku would think that you didn't touch his sharingan."_

_"Exactly, he couldn't demand the body be disturbed immediately. It would have looked too suspicious."_

_"So, Fugaku now knows that you're protecting Itachi."_

_"Yes. I need you to stop Raiton at all costs. We need to cut the Uchiha's legs out from under them; their extra income will disappear if he isn't selling drugs and information."_

_"He's the one who got them the poison for Sasuke's katana then. Do you think they're planning another coup attempt?"_

_"Yeah, I do. I need Sasuke's eyes out of the village, and Sakura will be a target because she knows everything about his death. Plus she's close to me, so she's very dangerous to Fugaku."_

_"I'll stop him. I'll do whatever it takes." He shook his head. "I won't let anything happen to her."_

_"Good." Tsunade leaned back in her chair, satisfied. "Now get over here."_

_"Huh?"_

_"I'm gonna need to hit ya. Otherwise, Sakura is gonna suspect something."_

_"Oh, yeah that makes sense. Are you drunk?"_

_"You betcha." She replied, starting to slur slightly as she finished off what must have been her tenth cup of sake._

_"Can you go easy on me?"_

_"Nope."_

_Naruto sighed and braced himself._

** Present Time: **

Sweat dripped down the back of Sakura's neck. She allowed herself a second to relax as the swelling in the brain started to recede, finally resuming the original brain shape. She was exhausted from the intricate work of healing the damage while keeping the assassin alive. "I'm done! How do the pupils look?"

"Good, they're responding," Itachi replied, clicking off the flashlight.

"Chakra pathways doing okay?"

"They're moving normally," Neji replied, peering over to look.

"Perfect. I'm just going to heal the skull and then we just have to wait for him to wake up."

She picked up the skull fragments that she'd set out earlier and began to fuse them together. "Pressure points activated please."

She paused for a moment and then continued healing the skull. The bones knit together smoothly, and she made sure to rearrange the skin and hair back over the crown.

Finally finished, she glanced up at the sun, stretching out the stiffness in her neck. "What time is it?"

"It took about five hours." Neji supplied, removing his fingers from the chakra points. "It's nearly sundown, perhaps we should make camp."

"Ugh, I didn't realise that it would take so long. Thanks, both of you, for your help." She replied, still inspecting the stitches she'd just sewed.

Twining a white bandage around the shinobi's head, she tied it off and eased his head off of her lap. Making a mental note to change her clothes, she stood on shaky legs and stretched.

"I don't like being so out in the open, is there any chance we can move him?" Itachi glanced at Sakura, eyebrows raised.

She sighed. "I don't think it's a good idea. Maybe if there was a good spot within a mile, but otherwise here would be best."

He nodded, then stood and cracked his knuckles. "I'll take a look around. In the meantime, hold off setting up camp until I get back."

Sakura nodded, wiping the sweat off of her forehead and watched as he took his ANBU mask from his pack and disappeared into the forest. "Hey Naruto, we're done!"

"Finally!" Naruto got up from his post and stretched, yawning hugely. "I'm starving, are we setting up camp?"

She noticed that he avoided making eye contact, and marked it up to the fact that he'd just seen a man's brain for the first time. Sakura could remember the shock of her first brain surgery; she was still a little grossed out by what she'd just done.  _Ugh, I hate operating out in the field. A bore needle as a drill bit? Sakura, that's barbaric._

She didn't know that he was bursting at the seams to tell her all that he knew. Naruto understood why Tsunade trusted him, but he wasn't sure how it would help Sakura to keep her ignorant. He waited impatiently for Tsunade's signal; she'd promised him a hawk message when the time was right to reveal his information.

"Just waiting for Uchiha to get back, you can help yourself to the food in my pack if you want." Neji stood, and brushed the dirt off of his knees, indicating with a head tilt the direction their squad leader had gone.

"Sweet!" Naruto flopped down next to them and examined the still unconscious shinobi. "Yikes, that's a pretty impressive scar he's going to have."

Sakura laughed, shaking her head. "His hair will grow out to cover most of it."

"If I let him live, there's no guarantee of that." Itachi's voice sounded right behind them, making them both jump out of their skin.

"Don't sneak up on us like that!" Sakura scolded, shaking the adrenaline out of her arms and reabsorbing the chakra she'd pushed into her fist. She didn't like surprises, and she'd barely managed to pull her punch. "I could have hurt you!"

"Doubtful." He replied, finally removing his mask.

Neji chuckled, nodding at Itachi in greeting. "You didn't feel his chakra signature when he returned? Naruto, you're getting lazy."

"Shut up!"

Sakura ignored their bickering and turned back to Itachi. "So did you find anything?"

"No, this is the most defensible spot for several miles. We'll set up camp here for the night."


	9. Dead End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itachi opens up to Sakura about his new eyes. They manage to wake up the unconscious shinobi, but didn't count on him having a hidden defense mechanism.

Sakura sat and stared at the fire, listening to Naruto and Neji bicker. She glanced at the unconscious shinobi, propped up against a tree directly across from them. It had been several hours since the surgery, and she was getting a little bit worried. She sighed and focused on the flames, willing herself to concentrate on something else.

"Haruno, can I have a word?" She turned to see Itachi over her right shoulder, motioning for her to follow him.

"Yeah, sure." She got up, kneading the stiffness out of her shoulders as she followed him outside the range of the firelight. "What's up?"

He didn't respond for a moment, glancing towards the fire to make sure that they wouldn't be overheard. Satisfied that their conversation was sufficiently private, he finally spoke.

"I'm sorry about this afternoon." He began, crossing his arms across his chest. "I'm not very good at allowing others to take charge, especially if it's something out of my area of expertise."

Sakura was taken aback; she hadn't expected the Uchiha to actually  _apologize_  for their argument. Truthfully, she hadn't really given it much thought; she'd gotten so used to Sasuke's rude comments that she'd completely dismissed it.

"Oh. Thanks, but you really don't have to apologize."

He raised his eyebrows, clearly surprised at her response. "I should, I was rude to you. You handled it surprisingly well. "

There was a hint of mirth in his tone, and his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners. She found herself smiling back, surprising herself. "I'm not like Naruto; I can keep my temper in check. Don't worry."

He chuckled, and she felt herself relaxing at the warm sound. She'd never paid attention to his laugh before, but it was so different than Sasuke's, who had never sounded truly genuine. Sakura hadn't realized how much tension she'd been carrying in her body. It was no wonder Itachi had been expecting a fight; her body language had definitely indicated that she was on the offensive.

"I half expected you to; sometimes you react to things the same way."

"Oh god, do I?" Sakura sighed, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "That's embarrassing."

"It's not that bad." He replied, indicating the prisoner with a jerk of his head. "Is he going to wake up anytime soon?"

Sakura sighed inwardly, thrown by his abrupt change in subject. She hadn't quite figured him out yet; something told her that perhaps she would never understand him. "Hopefully, he will. It's pretty touch and go right now, I'm not sure if he'll survive."

"I would prefer it if he did, frankly." He looked sidelong at the fire, motioning for her to follow him a little further out of the clearing. "I did have something else I wanted to talk to you about. "

"Okay, shoot."

"It's uh, a bit of a strange request." He was staring determinedly over her shoulder, and for the first time, she could tell that he was uncomfortable.  _Hoo boy. Please don't let it be something super weird._

She felt a jolt of anxiety, but seeing the serious expression on his face she couldn't help her curiosity. "What is it?"

Itachi was suddenly looking very interested in something on the forest floor, and he took a slow, deep breath before answering. "There's something a little odd about my eyes."

"Oh."

The silence was suddenly deafening, as her stomach gave a jolt and she slowly brought her eyes up to meet his.

"You mean, uh, well, your new eyes?" She finally managed to say, nervously playing with a lock of hair.

"Yes. I shouldn't have asked, I knew it would make you uncomfortable -"

He cut off as she put up a hand to silence him. "What's wrong with them?"

"That's what I'm hoping you can tell me. You have experience with sharingan, right?" He replied, looking at her very directly.

Unsure of what to do, she glanced over at Naruto, and then abruptly made up her mind. She was a medic first, and she'd be damned if she was going to let a personal issue get in the way of her job.

"Sit down and take off your headband." She knelt on the ground, gesturing for him to join her.

He complied; settling into a cross-legged position and untying his headband, letting it clink to the ground.

She took a deep, steadying breath, and reached forwards to place her fingertips just above his eyes. He didn't flinch, and she relaxed slightly. Probing gently with her chakra, she traveled up the tissues of the inner eye, inspecting the retina, and trying not to remember how coldly these eyes had looked at her when they had belonged to Sasuke.

She continued to travel up the optic nerve, searching for signs of damage or something odd. She found nothing abnormal; in fact, the eyes were in perfect condition. She checked again, just to be sure, but again found nothing. She removed her hands from Itachi's forehead and handed him his headband. "I can't find anything, are you sure you felt something weird?"

He sat there for a moment, eyebrow furrowed. "Yes, but if you don't see anything, it's nothing. I must not be used to them in action."

"I did notice that you don't keep your sharingan on," Sakura remarked, standing up and brushing the dirt off of her knees.

He didn't answer right away, tying his headband back on and standing up. "No, I don't. Not anymore."

He turned away, walking back to the campsite, and Sakura rolled her eyes. Clearly, the conversation was over. She was just making a move to follow him when he stopped abruptly and looked back at her.

"Thanks." He said quietly, nodding at her. "That can't have been easy for you."

She sighed. "You're welcome. I think you should continue to monitor them, and let me know if you have any more concerns."

He looked slightly amused for a second, and then his mask of indifference slid over his face once more. "I will. Go ahead, I'll take first watch."

She nodded and brushed past him. She heard him run up the side of a tree, into the branches of the canopy, and when she glanced over her shoulder he was already out of sight.

Settling down next to Naruto, she grabbed an apple out of her pack and joined the conversation. She groaned inwardly when she realized that they were talking about how many times Kakashi had beaten Guy in sparring matches. She almost envied Itachi, all alone in the tree canopy.

Itachi watched the three of them eat, absorbed in his own thoughts. His conversation with Sakura had left him with more questions than answers. He had been so sure that there was something wrong with his eyes.  _There is something very wrong, I can feel it._

Reluctantly, he let his sharingan melt away, leaving behind dark eyes that were clouded with concern. He couldn't put his finger on it, the way he felt a pressure behind them, like a constant feeling of being watched. He knew his every move was being tracked in Konoha but here, when he could only sense the chakra of his teammates, Itachi knew that something wasn't right.

Frustrated by his paranoia, he checked his peripherals and glanced behind him. As usual, there was no one there, but he could have sworn there was a shadow on his mind. It fluttered around the corner of his eyes, coming and going randomly, and disappearing without a trace.

Setting his jaw, he settled back onto the branch and twirled a leaf between his fingers, thinking.

It had started after the transplant, of that much he was certain. Besides the strange shadow side effect, having perfect vision again was unnerving; he could see everything in such detail that it was almost painful.

Itachi hated being able to see. He despised himself for what he'd done to Sasuke, knowing full well that it was his fault that Fugaku had taken his brother away. He was of the opinion that he shouldn't have received Sasuke's eyes at all; it felt like an insult to his memory. He didn't blame Naruto for hating him; he had already decided that he would hold back in a fight with Uzumaki. If he died, so be it.

_It's doubtful, though. Oh well._

Steering himself away from his morbid thoughts, Itachi wondered why it was taking Shisui so long to reply to his letter, it was unlike him to delay a reply, especially one as urgent as this.

He had finally swallowed his pride and had written to his cousin the week before. Shisui knew everything there was to know about the sharingan, and Itachi had hoped that he'd be able to shed some light on his current symptoms, months later.

He certainly hadn't suffered from nightmares before the surgery. Closing his eyes, he recalled the images that were burned into his mind. They must have been Sasuke's last memories, the florescent lights flashing overhead, the blood dripping everywhere. Sakura's panicked expression as she attempted to stop the bleeding, blood speckled over her face. Sasuke's dark, shining blood.

But the most haunting image of all, the one that woke him up night after night, was the katana blade flashing in the moonlight as he, Itachi, thrust it through Sasuke's chest.

He absentmindedly touched his own chest, remembering the phantom pain that accompanied the dreams. Itachi knew that it was foolish to keep this information private, knowing that Tsunade would never have cleared him for a mission if she'd been made aware of what was going on.

But even he didn't know that sharingan transferral would bring along memories, and perhaps something more. The skin between his shoulder blades prickled, and he shrugged it off, knowing that it was only the paranoia of being watched.

_Fugaku will know by now that I have Sasuke's sharingan, he's not going to let me get out of this unscathed._

Glancing down at his teammates below, his eyes fell on Sakura. She was laughing along with something that Uzumaki had said, but her smile dropped away as soon as Naruto looked away. She stared into the flames, her expression unreadable. When he'd worked up the nerve to ask her to take a look at his eyes, she hadn't given away her true feelings then either.

_She's better at hiding her emotions than I thought and she knows too much, she's right._

_The Hokage wants both of us out of the village, that's for certain._

_But why?_

_I have Sasuke's sharingan, and she knows everything about his death. The only reason Fugaku would keep her alive is so that she can heal his sharingan damage, but she's too dangerous. He's underestimated how smart she is. Father has no reason to keep me around, he'll try to kill me the first chance he gets._

_I'm not going to give him that chance._

He settled back into his perch, crossing his arms and staring up at the sky. He had some thinking to do and he didn't want to be distracted.

** Five hours later **

Sakura was startled awake by a hand on her shoulder, and she sighed in relief when she realized that it was only Naruto.

"Hey, it's your watch." He murmured tiredly, already folding himself into his bedroll. She bit back the urge to laugh when he started snoring immediately.

Stretching the stiffness out of her limbs, she surveyed the camp. In the light from the fire she saw the sleeping forms of Neji and Naruto, but where was Itachi?

Then she spotted him, just out of the range of firelight.  _What a weird guy._

Yawning, she checked the still-comatose shinobi's vitals and settled back on her heels. "Hm."

His improvement was remarkable, she was now sure he would pull through. Whether he'd be able to speak was another matter entirely.  _If only we knew who he's working for._

_That clone technique, I know it from somewhere._   _But where?_

Settling into a cross-legged position, she began to think. She racked her brain for over an hour until the sun began to peek through the trees and the birds began to sing.

_The clones weren't shadow clones exactly; they acted more like water clones. But they disappeared in puffs of something that resembled smoke._

That's when it hit her. The chuunin exam had boasted genin from all over the place, but only those from a specific village in the Land of Water had used a technique similar to the assassin.  
 _They were steam clones!  
_ _He's got a water-type chakra signature too. I can't believe I didn't see it before._

Scooting over to the silent man, she inspected his face closely.  _If he's around my age, then he would have been in the exams seven years ago.  
With this facial hair, it's hard to tell, but he almost looks familiar. I might have run into a sibling, or maybe a cousin?_

She could hear her teammates stirring behind her, but she paid them no mind. Standing up, she began to pace. The Village Hidden in the Mist was well-known for their mercenary population, but she wasn't totally sure that the assassin was one of them.

Suddenly, she had an idea. Moving down to the shinobi's feet, she quickly removed one of his sandals.

"Haruno, want to fill me in on what it is that you're doing?" Itachi asked drily, sounding faintly amused. He sauntered over to stand behind her, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth.

"Some of the mercenaries from the Land of Water have brands on the bottoms of their feet right?" She glanced up at him, pausing before taking off the second sandal.

He raised his eyebrow, looking thoughtful. "I've never seen one, but yes."

"I was wondering why the chakra patterns he was putting out were so familiar to me yesterday."

"You said that you recognized them."

"Yeah, that's what was bothering me. I just remembered where I'd run into them before."

"Okay, continue." Itachi crossed his arms and looked at her expectantly.

"Neji, do you remember the steam clones that the mist genin came up with for our chuunin exam?" She called, grinning from ear to ear.

"I'd forgotten about that, it's an interesting technique. It's a combination of a lightning style camouflage jutsu and the water clone jutsu." Neji replied, shoveling dirt over the fire pit.  
"Now that you mention it, it's remarkably similar to yesterday's clone army." He remarked thoughtfully.

"That's what I was thinking." Sakura nodded, and then bent over to inspect the assassin's heel. "Nothing here."

"Something like that probably takes a lot of chakra to maintain," Itachi remarked, bending down to see what Sakura was doing.

"Apparently they don't." Neji shook his head. "The lightening jutsu provides the energy for the steam; all the user has to do is control the clone."

"Imagine what Uzumaki could do with a jutsu like that." Itachi glanced over at the still-sleeping Naruto, who had one arm flung over his face, and was snoring spectacularly.

Sakura almost snorted, he looked so ridiculous.

Prying off the second sandal, she felt a flash of triumph as a small brand shaped like a lightning bolt became visible. "Gotcha!"

"Does he have a mark?" Neji walked over to Naruto and nudged him awake.

"Looks like it!" Sakura said smugly, pleased that her theory had played out.

"Using lightning style jutsu, carrying a brand that looks like a bolt of lightning…" Itachi trailed off thoughtfully.

"What are the chances that they also work for a guy named Raiton?" Sakura finished his thought, raising her eyebrows.

"Subtlety doesn't seem to be his strong suit." Itachi murmured, shaking his head. "He's probably the mobster type; half of his power comes from his reputation."

"Is he gonna wake up?" Naruto sat up, yawning hugely.

Sakura glanced over. "Yeah, I don't know when, though."

Itachi frowned. "We need to get going, is there any way that you can wake him up?"

She shrugged, tilting her head to one side thoughtfully. "Yeah, I could. But I don't know if he'll be able to talk."

"There's only one way to find out." He stood up and motioned to Neji. "We should prop him up against that tree."

"Whoa! Hang on! You can't just throw him around like a sack of potatoes!" Sakura shot to her feet, putting her body between Itachi and the immobile shinobi.

"We won't." Neji put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We'll use caution."

Sakura sighed, and then nodded. "Okay. Just make sure you don't jostle his spine."

She moved to the side and watched closely as Itachi and Neji carefully lifted and moved the man fifteen feet, settling him into a sitting position at the base of a giant oak.

Naruto finished rolling up his bed roll and came to stand beside her. "How's your chakra?"

"What?" She had been so focused on watching the other two that the question hadn't registered.

"How's your chakra level? You did surgery for hours yesterday, and I know you didn't sleep much."

She smiled sheepishly. "I can't hide anything from you anymore. I'm okay, don't worry. I have reserves that I can dip into if I need to."

He hummed his disapproval. "Be careful. Uchiha will push you too far." She didn't need to look at his face to know that he was scowling.

Rolling her eyes at him, she crossed her arms. "I'm fine. He won't do that, he knows better than to let the medic run out of chakra. Simmer down."

Before Naruto could reply, Itachi gestured for them to cross the clearing. "Haruno, are you ready?"

"Yeah." She knelt down in front of the bound man, placing her fingertips on his temples. She glanced over at Itachi, who was settling his ANBU mask over his face once more. He nodded at her, signaling that it was time to begin.

Sakura took a deep breath, clearing her mind. Reaching out with her chakra, she located the nerve endings at the base of the skull. Concentrating, she sent a pulse of energy through her fingertips, sending what felt like electricity through his head into his spinal cord. Immediately his eyes snapped open and he sucked in a shocked breath.

She stepped back and gestured to Itachi. He stepped forward, looking very intimidating in his mask. Drawing his katana slowly out of its sheath, he knelt down in front of the captive.

"Can you speak?"

The assassin glared at him with such ferocity that Sakura raised her eyebrows. "I'm not stupid."

Smirking, Sakura turned away slightly. She was extremely pleased with the results of the surgery, she'd managed to repair his brain and maintain the integrity of his cognitive processes. She couldn't wait to brag to Shizune when they got back to Konoha.

"You're going to tell us who you work for," Itachi stated calmly, his voice slightly muffled by his mask.

"Fuck you." The assassin hissed, glaring at him.

"Who do you work for?" Itachi lazily brought the blade of his katana up to the man's neck.

"You little leaf shinobi think that just because you caught me, I'll tell you everything?"

"You're going to tell me because I'm going to make being alive very unpleasant for you if you don't."

Something in the tone of Itachi's voice made the hair on the back of Sakura's neck stand up. She was hit with a shudder of revulsion, and there was no doubt in her mind that Itachi meant every word.  _He can torture him with a single pulse of his sharingan._

"Let's see if you can guess." The assassin grinned, and suddenly he had something white in his mouth.

"It's poison!" Itachi barked, and they all started forward to stop him, but it was too late.

Sakura could only watch as he bit down on the pill disguised as a tooth. Immediately, his body started to spasm as chakra ran through it, creating a blue light, not unlike Kakashi's lightning blade technique. A high pitched buzzing sound keened through the air, and the air crackled with lightning.

"It's going to explode!" Neji yelled, and they immediately moved away from the tree. Sakura could tell that there was no way that they would be able to get clear of the blast zone in time.  _This is not good!_

Sakura glanced at Naruto, and they made eye contact as the chakra exploded outwards. If she was going to die here, she was glad that they were together.


	10. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After surviving the blast, the team continues on their mission. They are attacked again, and this time Naruto has no choice but to trust Itachi to save his life. Sakura uses up most of her chakra to keep Naruto alive, so Itachi makes her an intriguing offer.

They were all thrown backwards from the force of the blast, each landing hard on the ground.

Flat on her back, Sakura saw black spots swimming over her vision; the light had been so bright that they'd been momentarily blinded. Her ears were ringing, and she closed her eyes again. Fighting the nausea that threatened to engulf her, she took a few deep breaths. Once she was recovered enough to think, she opened her eyes to see Itachi looming over her.

"Are you injured?" He asked abruptly, not bothering to offer her a hand.

"No, I'm good. What happened?"

"He blew himself up." He replied, already straightening up and walking towards the body.

Glancing over to where the assassin lay, she could tell by looking at him that he was dead; the carnage where his body had lay confirmed it. She couldn't help it, she giggled.  _We're alive!_

She could feel Itachi glaring at her, but she ignored him and clambered to her feet. She was a little unsteady from having the wind knocked out of her lungs. Once she could breathe again, she made the rounds, checking the team for injuries. They'd managed to emerge unscathed, except for Naruto, who had re-broken one of his ribs.

"Everybody okay?" Sakura called, already wrapping up Naruto's ribcage.

"Yeah, that was nuts!" Naruto was wide-eyed, his hair sticking up all over the place. "What the hell was that thing?!"

Itachi inspected the corpse, rummaging through pockets and coming up with only a blank data scroll. "Looks like Raiton has some advanced techniques. He managed to seal a huge amount of chakra into a tooth. I've never seen that before."

Neji cleared his throat, and they all turned to look at him. "Frankly, I'm surprised you missed that, Sakura."

Sakura felt like he'd slapped her, and she reacted without thinking. "Well I was a little busy rebuilding his entire brain!"

Naruto shrugged and then made the very stupid mistake of trying to joke about the situation. "Aw well, it's too bad that you made his scar look good."

"I wouldn't have had to do that at all if you hadn't done your best to kill him!" She snapped. "How was this all my fault?! There are three other people on this team, and not one of you thought to check either!"

"Haruno-" Itachi started to speak but she threw up a hand to interrupt him. "I need to reorganize my supplies."

She turned on her heel and stalked out of the clearing, pulling shards of wood and leaves out of her hair. Relieved that no one had followed her, she concentrated her chakra and scaled a tree. Settling into the junction between two branches, she ran her hands through her hair in frustration. "I missed a suicide pill, how the hell did I do that?"

She was annoyed with herself, but also with her teammates. They were only in this situation because Naruto couldn't pull his punches and no matter what she did, Itachi would have killed the shinobi once he'd finished his interrogation.  _He would have died anyway; we got what we needed from him_.

She sat there for almost thirty minutes, gathering her thoughts and repacking her weapons pouch. Finally coming down from the tree, she washed the blood off of her face in the nearby creek and walked back to rejoin the team.

Itachi was waiting for her first, and he raised an eyebrow as she trudged back into the clearing. "Finished sulking?"

"Shut up Uchiha." She muttered, beckoning him over. "Let me check your eyes before we head out."

"I'm fine." He didn't flinch when she glared at him. "We need to get going."

"Seriously, I should check them."

He glared at her, but she could have sworn that his face softened slightly when she crossed her arms and huffed impatiently. "Fine, but later, when we've stopped for the night."

He looked over his shoulder and waved at Neji and Naruto. "Let's get going. We have twenty miles to cover before dark."

They took off into the trees once more, silently weaving through the branches at breakneck speed. Sakura mulled over the events of the past day and made a mental note to contact Tsunade.  _Things have just been too weird, how could Raiton know that we're after him already unless someone within Konoha tipped him off?_

She glanced over at Itachi, who also seemed to be deep in thought.  _There's something he's not telling me about this mission._

Naruto, who was three feet over from Sakura began to get nervous. He was all too familiar with her expression; it meant that she was analyzing a situation. The way she kept glancing over at Itachi made him consider breaking his promise to Tsunade.  _It's better if I tell her what's going on; if she talks to him about Fugaku it's going to bring up a lot of questions._

They continued on their way, periodically sending out bursts of chakra to survey the forest around them. Hours passed, and Sakura began to relax slightly. She was wrong to, as Neji whipped around to face behind them. "Uchiha, there are five shinobi closing in on us."

"Get into the trees, and mask your chakra. Let's see if we can take them by surprise."

Itachi was already settling his mask onto his face. Sakura scaled into the leaves, quickly signing a camouflage jutsu. She extinguished her chakra and could feel her teammates doing the same thing. Except for Naruto, who had so much chakra in his body that she could almost feel it pulsing from six feet away.

"Naruto! I can still feel you!" She hissed, flapping her hand at him.

His whole body tensed and she felt his chakra signature drop away. He gave her thumbs up and turned his attention to the ground below.

They only had to wait for a moment before a group of shinobi darted into the clearing below. Sakura was too high up in the trees to hear what they were saying, but she watched with narrowed eyes as they scanned the trees before gathering around the tallest of the bunch. She glanced over at Itachi, who shook his head slightly, indicating with his hand that he wanted her to stay hidden in the trees. She settled back on her heels and then smirked as Itachi signalled to the other two what the plan was. Naruto nodded so vigorously that his hair flopped all over the place and Sakura had to bite back a snicker when Itachi rolled his eyes.

The three Konoha shinobi dropped silently from the trees, landing amongst the enemy. It wasn't until Itachi pulled his blade out of the corpse he had landed on that they even noticed that they'd been attacked. The clearing exploded with movement as blades flashed and shinobi dodged and parried each other's blows. The tallest of the attackers rounded on Naruto, and Sakura watched intently as he immediately produced a rasengan and thrust it towards the enemy. She was more than a little shocked when the enemy dodged the attack with such speed that he was able to get behind Naruto and send him flying with a well-placed kick. Naruto immediately sprang to his feet and the rasengan blossomed from his hand once more. He was able to hold off the enemy for a few moments, and Sakura tensed as his back foot slid backwards slightly and almost lost his balance for a second.

She watched in horror as the shinobi darted under Naruto's guard and thrust his blade upwards. Naruto cried out as the strange blade pierced his stomach all the way to the hilt.

It then disappeared, leaving silver flames behind that were absorbed into Naruto's body. Itachi was behind him in an instant, throwing the attacker away from Naruto and stepping into a defensive position. Sakura was shocked; she'd never seen anyone get under Naruto's guard like that. The speed that this man possessed was inhuman, and she was sure that even Itachi would have a hard time pinning him down.

"Hyuuga, take his companions down." Itachi's voice was cold, and Sakura knew him well enough at this point to sense his fury radiating through the trees. "Haruno, we need you down here now."

Neji was a blur, fighting the remaining two opponents at once as Itachi fought and parried with the leader. Sakura dropped from the trees and dragged Naruto behind Itachi in order to heal him. Sakura turned her attention to Naruto's wound, his whole body was trembling. "Naruto, you're going to be just fine!"

He smiled weakly at her. "You are such a liar."

She was just about to reply when her breath caught in her throat as she took a good look at his wound. His seal was shredded, and there was so much blood that she could barely assess the damage. "Your seal!"

"I should be healing, it shouldn't still hurt like this-" Naruto cut off suddenly, and his body began to twitch violently. "-the fox, Sakura he's going insane!"

"What?!" She looked over at Itachi, who was still circling his opponent. "You need to get control of this; you can just talk to him!"

"He can't hear me, there was something about that blade that is m-making him lose contact with me, I can't t-talk to him!"

Sakura started to frantically push healing chakra into the slash, but it was acting so strangely that she lost control.  _It's evaporating? How is this possible?_

She was suddenly overtaken with a wave of white-hot fury, and she exploded towards Itachi's opponent.  _This bastard needs to die, fuck this drawn out battle!_

"Uchiha, get out of my way!"

With chakra-charged legs, Sakura shot towards the shinobi, effortlessly catching the blade that Itachi threw her way. She was upon the man before he could raise an arm to defend himself against her attack. She feinted and then thrust the blade upwards. The assassin shuddered as Sakura drove Itachi's katana through his heart and she threw his body off of the sword with so much force that the corpse flew ten feet to land on the ground with a crunch.

Panting, she turned around to hand Itachi back his weapon. "We've got a bigger problem to deal with. You were being too slow."

He frowned, but he didn't appear to be angry with her. "I had him handled, but that was…unexpected."

Ignoring him, she sprinted back towards Naruto. "Just figure out who they are and why they attacked us. Neji, I need your help!"

Naruto was doubled over, gasping as he tried to regain control. He glanced up and made eye contact with Sakura and she almost fell over in shock as she ran; his eyes turned from blue to bright orange with cat-like slits.

Fox eyes.

"S-Sakura, "he gasped, gripping her hand in his as she knelt down beside him. "-you gotta know, Shisui's dead-."

He cut off and grabbed his stomach as a wave of pain rocked his body. Waves of heat began to radiate from him, warming up to air to an uncomfortable temperature.

_Shisui? Shisui Uchiha?_

"Don't speak, concentrate!" She shushed him, and pulled out a scroll from her back that held a basic sealing jutsu. "Do you need this to help?"

"I can't control it, Sakura-" He cut off as his body continued to spasm. "-get a b-bird to Tsunade, I need Itachi to p-put me down."

"No, Naruto!" She was forced to step back as the heat radiating off of his body became too hot to handle. "You can do this!"

"T-there's too m-much damage to the s-seal!" It was in that moment that she knew he was right, his wound was dripping profusely, and the ground was soaked with blood.

"Why isn't he healing?!" Itachi demanded as he landed beside them.

"I don't know! The blade was made of something I've never seen before!"

"Sakura, he's getting worse!" Neji darted forward and pressed several pressure points on the back of Naruto's neck, and the blonde shinobi sucked in a panicked breath as the pain receded.

"Itachi, you need to put me down." Naruto growled, panting. "Sakura can't fix this cut and stop the seal from breaking if I'm like this."

"I agree. But I can't do much to keep you from the torture of the mangekyou."

"My mind isn't going to be in my body. I can go to Sage Mountain, then you guys don't gotta worry." Naruto gave Sakura half-hearted thumbs up. "I just have to be in a comfortable position."

Sakura couldn't argue, and helped Neji to lean Naruto back against a tree. "Be careful, we'll figure out how to fix you."

"Yeah, I know. Tell the old lady what happened-" He cut off, grunting in pain as the phantom shape of the nine-tailed fox blossomed out of his body. "-tell her to tell you everything."

"Itachi, you need to be ready," Neji put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "go, we've got it handled on this end."

"I'll start now, Uzumaki." Itachi knelt down in front of Naruto and stared calmly at his eyes.

Struggling to breathe, Naruto nodded and fixed his gaze on Itachi's blood-red sharingan. Blood began to seep out of his mouth as he slumped downwards. The outline of the fox began to fade immediately, and the heat subsided.

Sakura released a breath that she hadn't realised that she'd been holding. "Did he make it?"

Itachi hesitated for a second, then turned and looked directly at her. "It's impossible for me to tell. All I know is that his mind isn't trapped in the mangekyou."

Sakura's stomach plummeted into her feet and she darted over to Naruto's still form. "I need to try and heal the seal."

The clearing fell silent for several tense moments; save for the quiet humming of Sakura's healing chakra. She could feel something within Naruto's body pushing against her as she knitted together muscles and wove severed nerves. The wound was deep, and she did her best to burn away the remnants of the blade's poison, but it was impossible to recover it all. She was left with a large, jagged scar that marred the image of the seal, but the fox seemed to be thwarted for now.

She finished closing the wound, and looked expectantly at Neji. "Do you see any movement in his pathways?"

He nodded. "I do. He seems to be asleep. Although there's a section around the seal where there is nothing."

"I know that he's messed up, I couldn't pull all of the poison out of there. His chakra connection to the fox is probably severed, and his body metabolizes probably four times as much as we do."

"He's stable for now, you can rest." Neji made a note in his data scroll and returned it to his pocket. "We should try and find shelter until we get new orders from the Hokage."

She breathed a tiny sigh of relief and slumped down onto her knees. "I don't know how long it will take for this internal wound to heal. His body might start to shut down if it doesn't have the constant chakra flow that it needs."

"Where will he get the chakra from?" Neji asked quietly, offering her his hand as she stood up.

"Me, I suppose." She replied tiredly, wiping congealing blood off of her hands. "I'll have to give him some whenever his body needs it."

"What about the mission?" Itachi was slowly pacing, his arms were crossed and his brow was furrowed.

"We can continue, but for now we need to get him somewhere where his body will have a chance to rest."

"I thought Uzumaki could control the fox."

"So did I, but the blade made them both lose control? I don't want to know what something like that could do you either of you two." She replied, checking Naruto's eyes underneath their lids. They had returned to blue, but there was minimal pupillary movement when she waved a chakra-lit hand in front of them.

"I imagine that we would all be worried for our lives if it got any of us. I had no idea that you were capable of that kind of speed." Itachi replied drily, hoisting Naruto onto his back.

"We needed to deal with him, I couldn't think of any other way to speed things up."

"Agreed, but don't do it again."

"Fine, I won't. Now, can we please get moving?"

They took off across the ground, and travelled at a slower pace for four hours along the road. Sakura lost count of how many times Naruto had small seizures, ones that forced her to feed chakra into his neurons to soothe his nervous system. Eventually they came across a small inn and due to Sakura's insistence, decided to stop there for the night.

They carefully maneuvered Naruto's unconscious form up the stairs and to their two rooms.

Sakura nudged the door to the first room open, and spying the promised beds, beckoned Itachi into the room. "You can put him down over there, closest to the sink."

He brushed past her, readjusting Naruto's unconscious form so he could lay him on the bedspread. He cracked his neck and glanced up at her. She shrugged. "Thanks."

"Yeah." He muttered, glancing around the room. "I'm going to scout around."

She glared at him as he pushed past her and out the door. "You do that."

He didn't even deign to answer her comment, and disappeared down the stairwell.

She let out a groan of annoyance and impatiently brushed her hair out of her eyes. Naruto suddenly let out a gasp of pain and his body arched off the bed as he strained backwards. She was at his side in a flash, and her hands grasped either side of his head as her chakra shot through him, searching for the source of agony.

He quieted almost as soon she found it; his heart was beating frantically as she fed healing energy into his right kidney. She sighed with relief when it began to work normally once more.

Moving her hands to his torso, she scanned his liver and other kidney to make sure there wouldn't be any more surprises. He seemed fine for now; she just hoped fervently that she wouldn't have any further organ failure to deal with before she'd had a chance to rest.

Immediately she felt bone deep exhaustion, her chakra expired for the moment.

Sakura felt her stomach knot with anxiety. Since he'd slipped into this coma, she'd required more chakra each time there was a complication. Her last resort was to dip into her reserves, but she couldn't afford as the medic of the operation to run out.

It hadn't helped that she'd performed complicated brain surgery barely two days before. She still wasn't fully recovered but on a good day she would have been able to accomplish the same feat on a dozen shinobi without breaking a sweat.  _First it's convulsions, and now it's_   _organ failure, what's next...?_

Settling herself cross-legged beside his sleeping form, she scrutinized his blank face. Placing her hand on his forehead once more, she probed gently into his mind for signs of activity. There was nothing, he was a blank.

Trying to drag anything up from his brain, even a sign of whether he'd made it to Sage Mountain or not had no results. She wanted to punch something, she was so frustrated. She was so intent that she barely noticed that there were footsteps on the stairwell.

Glancing up as the door squeaked open; she quickly wiped all emotion from her face. She was itching for an argument; all of her frustration needed an outlet. Itachi barely spared her a second glance as he strode into the room. "Neji took over." He said by way of explanation. She nodded absent-mindedly, her eyes once again on Naruto.

"Report, please." Itachi spoke over his shoulder, staring out the open window.

Rolling her eyes, Sakura pulled her note scroll out of her pack. "We've completed day three of our estimated twelve week mission. We covered eleven miles today, instead of the proposed twenty. Naruto is, for the moment stable. During the last twenty-four hours, he has experienced a severe stab wound, convulsions, blocked arteries and right kidney failure."

Itachi turned towards her, his face blank. "That's new."

She shrugged, determined to keep a brave face. "Twenty minutes ago."

"And you didn't think to mention it?" His tone was steely, and she bristled.

"Well clearly I just did. I was a little busy giving you the report of the day." Sakura snapped.

He shrugged. "Next time, tell me immediately if something's wrong."

"Fine." She sighed, her anger dissipating as quickly as it had risen to the surface. "Look, I really need a shower. Can you watch him?"

He glanced over at Naruto, his expression unreadable. He flicked his eyes up to meet hers, and nodded briefly.

"Be quick."

She nodded, placing a hand on his shoulder in thanks as she passed. Surprisingly he didn't shrug her off; she marked it down to exhaustion.

She grabbed her things, and walked into the tiny bathroom. She was still feeling paranoid about Naruto's deterioration, so she left the door open a crack. Settling into the lukewarm water of the shower, she scrubbed fiercely at her body. Dried blood that she didn't remember picking up flaked away and spiraled down the drain. She watched the water run down her body until it became clear.

Feeling better already, she towelled off and stepped back into the room. Itachi was perched on the windowsill, his expression far away.

"How is he? Any changes at all?" She kept her tone light and kept her back turned as she pulled out her medical kit.

"Nothing urgent, his chakra levels spiked a moment ago."

Sakura darted over to the unconscious shinobi and rested a hand on his forehead. "In this condition, any chakra spikes are urgent. He's feverish. It's probably a side effect of the kidney failure. Can you get me some cold water?"

Itachi crossed to the sink and turned on the tap. Rummaging through her pack, Sakura grabbed a roll of towels and tossed one towards him. He caught it in midair, folding it neatly and placing it under the stream of water with a practised hand. He wrung it out slightly and rolled it back up as he flicked off the tap.

He paused. "How're your chakra levels right now?" He asked suddenly, crossing his arms and turning to face her. She was paler than usual, and her eyes were bloodshot.

Surprised, Sakura concentrated on checking Naruto's glands. They were swollen, just as she'd thought. "Lower than I'm comfortable with, but it's nothing some sleep won't cure."

She frowned, partly because of Itachi's abrupt change in attitude and partly because Naruto's face was flushed and clammy and his pulse was once again hammering as his body fought the fever. There was no way she was about to disclose how little chakra she had at her disposal without dipping into her reserves, now wasn't the time for a lecture.

Itachi didn't say anything more, just watched as she tended to her patient. Sakura bit her lip in concentration as she drove chakra into Naruto's veins. If she could raise his temperature enough that it broke his fever, than she could save her reserves for later. A risky plan of action, but she would need as much strength as she could muster as they continued on their mission. Naruto being in this state was going to slow them down immensely and she didn't want to be caught defenseless. Using this much chakra was making her light-headed, even more so than before. Her heart thumped nervously against her ribcage, rising with the temperature of his body.

"You should-"

She interrupted him without a second thought. "Uchiha, hang on. Don't talk to me until I say so."

Without waiting for him to speak, she continued. "His temperature rises too fast and I'll end up denaturing his enzymes. He could die, so give me a second of peace would you?"

She ignored the angry silence, and aura of annoyance that radiated off Itachi. She could feel his eyes boring into her, but she didn't look up from her patient. Now was not the time to be bickering.

Her eyesight started to blur slightly, and that's when she realised that she had been holding her breath. Letting it all out, measuring the beat of Naruto's heart and reaching for his immune system had her eyes closed and chakra threads searching, she was fully focused.

She could feel her chakra channels straining, and she gritted her teeth and pressed on. Naruto was like a sponge, soaking up all of the chakra that she fed into his system. His body was used to such a high chakra concentration that he metabolised it almost instantly. Which for once was working in her favor as his temperature rose higher, she knew he was almost dangerously high. If this didn't work she was going to have to take drastic measures.

She eyed the sudden beads of sweat that had materialised on Naruto's forehead. That was a good sign, he was sweating it out. Pushing one last burst of chakra into his blood, she jerked up towards his glands and sweat started to pour off of his skin as the fever reached its peak and broke. Withdrawing her hands, she wiped her own forehead with a trembling arm and reached towards Itachi. "Cloth, please."

Itachi handed it to her without a word. She took it and wiped the sweat from Naruto's soaked face and torso. Placing the cloth on his forehead, she breathed a sigh of relief. "He should be okay for a while; I think I got him out of the danger zone."

Moving off her knees, her left leg suddenly gave out. She was severely drained, and her breathing was heavy. She'd had so much adrenaline pumping through her that she didn't realise how far she'd pushed her body.  _Damn._

Itachi was by her side in a flash, supporting her arm. Embarrassed at being caught in a weak moment, Sakura pushed him away impatiently. "I'm fine."

"Bullshit." He snapped, drawing her upright.

"Seriously, just let me recover." She was exasperated, and unsteadily made her way to the lone chair in the corner of the room. She collapsed into it, wincing as she rammed her bruises.

"Don't lie, it pisses me off." He was watching her like a hawk, offended that his rare offer of assistance had been refused. All she saw was a cold stare, and it annoyed her when he acted all high and mighty.

"I don't really care if it pisses you off, Uchiha." She sat up abruptly and glared at him before getting hit with a wave of vertigo.  _It took way more than I thought this time, I don't know how much longer I can keep this up._

She leaned back into the chair and closed her eyes, trying to breathe through her nose to avoid throwing up as another wave of nausea washed over her.

"Haruno."

She ignored him. Her head hurt too much to move, she could have sworn that the room was still spinning. If she pretended he wasn't there, maybe he would leave her alone to sulk in peace.

"Haruno."

She opened one eye. "I still haven't said you could talk to me again." She muttered. He let out a huff of annoyance.

"Sakura."

Shocked that he'd used her name, she opened her eyes and sat up. " _What?"_

"You can't continue like this. You're giving Naruto everything you've got." He was pacing now.

"I have to." She replied quietly. "I don't have any other choice; he'll die if I can't keep him stable."

"How much of your chakra are you using?" She could detect a note of something strange in his voice.  _Is he worried?_ She dismissed the thought immediately.

She hesitated for a moment; she was uncomfortable with the directness of his question. She avoided his gaze; his dark eyes were staring at her unblinkingly.

"What is necessary." She answered finally.

"I could easily give you some of mine." He remarked casually, leaning against the bathroom door frame.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, instantly suspicious. "Why, what's in it for you?"

Itachi smirked slightly. "You anchor the team; it's your responsibility to keep your chakra up. If I were to get injured I'd expect you could still heal me. Otherwise we won't be able to complete the mission."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "How gracious of you."

"It's all for the good of the team." He was businesslike once more, all traces of mirth gone.

"Good of the  _team_? You have got to be kidding." Sakura couldn't keep the venom out of her tone.

"Excuse me?" He was shocked, she saw his eyes widen for a fraction of a second before narrowing at her.

"Have you mentioned this to Neji? Somehow I don't think he'll be too keen. You're the captain; you can't be at a disadvantage in a fight. Medics don't engage in battle."

He said nothing, just continued to glare at her. Sakura wilted slightly under his gaze but pressed on.

"What if you run out? Then Neji's on his own, clearly you only care about yourself." She snapped. "He's going to think this is a  _stupid_  idea."

Itachi had to bite the inside of his cheek to avoid making a snarky remark. "At the rate Naruto's burning up your chakra, forget about the end of this mission, by the end of the week you won't even have enough to keep yourself running."

Sakura flinched.  _How could he know just how much I've been giving to Naruto? I'm always cloaking my chakra so no one can detect us. Don't tell me that the sharingan can see chakra too?"_

"I thought so." He took a few steps towards her, hands in his pockets. "I've already spoken to Neji, he agrees."

"Oh. Sorry." She deflated; embarrassed that she'd been wrong.

Itachi shook his head. "Doesn't matter, you were looking out for the team. We should start tonight. Come by after my shift is done, before you start yours."

Sakura glanced towards the closest bed. "With Naruto like this, I doubt I'll get any sleep at all."

"Try at least. I'll send Neji to brief you about tomorrow." He turned on his heel and she watched him stride into the hall. She heard the next room door click shut and then she let out the breath she'd been holding.

Chakra exchange, she'd never heard it done individually before. Not without a team and containment jutsus. She was hesitant, not because she didn't need it but because Itachi intimidated her and she couldn't shake her distrust of him.  _Sasuke would never have cared enough to offer._

She sighed and with great effort, dragged the chair over to Naruto's bedside.

Sakura started awake as a gentle hand touched her shoulder. "Hey, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." She smiled blearily at Neji, who stood behind her.

"How are you?" He sat down on the bed opposite her and regarded her solemnly. She shrugged. "Tired, but I'm on the mend. How are my pathways looking?"

He flushed slightly, as the veins revealing his byakugan receded into his brow. "Sluggish, Uchiha was concerned. I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable."

Sakura waved away the apology. "It's okay; I was meaning to ask you to take a look. He talked to you about the chakra transfer?"

"Yeah, I think it's a wise decision." Neji laced his fingers together thoughtfully. "Although I have to admit that you may need more than he's willing to give you."

Sakura smirked. "Would serve him right, although surely he's got a lot to give?"

Neji nodded, still deep in thought.

Sakura glanced at the clock on the nightstand. "It's almost two; did you want to brief me on tomorrow now or later?"

Neji pulled a data scroll from his pocket. "We leave at dawn. We've got five days to make it to our target before he leaves his current location. So, taking into consideration that Naruto is going to slow us down immensely, we should deliver him to Suna."

Sakura bolted upright. "No way! I'm not leaving him."

Neji raised his eyebrows. "I thought you trusted Lady Chiyo and the Kazekage? He would be in good hands."

Sakura sighed and glanced down at Naruto. "I don't want to let him out of my sight. There've been far too many complications already for me to feel comfortable with even leaving him for an hour. Much less behind in another village, I think it's too risky."

"Enough to endanger our mission?" Neji asked calmly, and she sighed in defeat. His reasoning made sense, which came as no surprise to her.

"If he pulls through tonight and tomorrow without any more issues, I think we might be okay. I need to talk to Tsunade-sama and find out how long he's able to stay in limbo." She replied tiredly.

He nodded, rolling the scroll back up. "Think about it. We're not expecting to encounter another squad until at least the day after tomorrow but it would be wise to reduce our liabilities."

Sakura fixed him with a glare. "You're so rational sometimes it pisses me off. You could at least talk about him like he's a person."

He stared blankly back at her, his point made. "Okay. Fine, he's going to Suna if I can keep him stable." She huffed, her attitude a poor attempt at hiding her anxiety. She stood up and stretched, putting a firm end to the conversation.

"The captain's expecting you." He remarked quietly.

She groaned. "Okay, can you…?"

Neji stood and gently maneuvered her away from the chair. Settling into it, he glanced up at her. "Go on. I will watch him."

She nodded, turning towards the door. "You'll come and get me if he-"

"Go, Sakura. I've got him."

Taking a deep breath, she raised a hand to knock on the neighbouring door. Before she made contact, it opened and Itachi walked further into the room without so much as a greeting.

"I'm good, thanks for asking." She muttered as she shut the door behind her.

"You took too long." He remarked, crossing his arms and glancing over at her.

"I was going over briefing. I take it you were the one who suggested a stop in Suna?" She asked; her brow furrowed in thought.

"Yeah. Can he take a detour?" Itachi started unwinding the bandages that covered his wrists to his elbows.

"Probably? It's hard to say for sure. I told Neji that it all depends on what happens within the next couple of days. If he stays in manageable health I could leave him with Gaara."

"The Ichibi's host?" Itachi nodded his agreement. "His additional chakra could keep Naruto stable until you figure out a way to pull him out of limbo."

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking. The part that makes me nervous is not knowing how long I have until his body gives out. I need as much time as he can give me."

Sakura sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. "In the meantime, I'll do everything I can. If it'll help him and the mission by extension, it's our best option."

Some strange expression flitted across his face, and she realised that she was seeing respect in his eyes for the first time. Straightening up, she crossed her arms expectantly.

"You slept for a while, you don't look like you're about to pass out any more." He remarked, appraising her. She avoided his gaze, aware she looked like death warmed over.

"Yeah, I did. Keep those bandages on; you have a lot of healing to do. How much chakra are you willing to give up?"

She got straight to the point, wanting to get back to Naruto. Having him out of her sight made her nervous, and she fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Well, since you're so desperate for it I guess I'll give up as much as it takes." The snark was back, and he smirked at her. He looked so much like his brother that she was tempted to punch him, screw the consequences. She was thrown, he'd never shown her this much of his personality, and she didn't like it one bit.

She glared at him, eyes steely. "Don't try and pin this on me. It was  _your_  idea."

He shrugged. "I know. If we're going to do this you need to stop hiding your chakra depletion from me. It's hard to tell right now."

She bit her lip. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed her hold on her external chakra emission; he would now be easily able to see how much she had to work with at the moment. "Okay, fine. I'm probably at twenty percent right now."

"Fourteen." He muttered, pushing up his sleeves to reveal his forearms as he slowly rewound the bandages. "Don't try and hide it from me, Sakura."

"Fourteen? No way. I've been sleeping for a while and-"

He looked at her pointedly. She laughed softly. "You've got a built-in lie detector too?"

He didn't even respond, just raised his eyebrows. She was suddenly speechless, with no snide remarks for once. She didn't really know what to say, he could already see how precariously she was clinging onto her strength. She had no way to hide her condition. With her levels bared to him, she felt almost naked. Defenceless.

"Now what?" She hated that her voice sounded shaky, she was nervous without her barriers. "How does this work?

"There are seven focal chakra points on the body that work best for this kind of exchange, we touch two of them together and I exchange some of my chakra to you."

She nodded. "I'm familiar with the basics, but I've only worked with group transfusions."

"Which one are you most comfortable with?" He rolled his shoulder, massaging it with one hand as he waited for her reply.

Sakura raised an eyebrow, her body tensing. "I don't know which ones you're talking about, as there are hundreds all over the body. You're going to have to be more specific. "

He shrugged. "It's easier if I show you. It's different with direct chakra transfer versus from multiple sources."

"You've done this before?"

"Yes. Once, but I'll need to be in direct contact with the pressure point for it to work." He replied, half of his face was hidden in shadow. His expression was unreadable.

She shook her head fervently. Needing some space, she crossed over to the window.

"Forget it. You never said we had to get all touchy-feely. I need to get back to Naruto. Thanks and all, but I really don't need any of your chakra, I have my own reserves and this is a waste of ti-"

She cut off abruptly as she realized that he was right behind her.

"Don't try and be a hero." Itachi murmured. "If you dip into your reserves, Naruto will burn through those in a couple of days. Maybe even before that."

She rolled her eyes, hating that he was right. "I'm not. I just don't want to owe you any favors."

They had never been this close before; standing quietly together wasn't something that came easily to their dynamic.

"You can make up for it by saving my ass later. Just trust me for once, would you?" He sounded mildly offended, and Sakura felt the ghost of a smile on her lips.

"Fine, but don't get used to it."

He scoffed at the comment, flicking his dark hair over his shoulder and moving in front of her.

"I'll show you all of them, and then you can choose which one you're most comfortable with."

She nodded, resigning that the sooner she gave in, the sooner she would be able to help Naruto if he suffered another attack during the night.  _I won't let another teammate die, no matter what._

"Go ahead."

He nodded, and without another word he bent and lifted her foot. Placing his thumb into the arch, he pressed gently. "One."

"Two." It was located behind her knee this time.

"Three." She shied away slightly and pushed his hands away as his warm palm covered her navel. He gave her an exasperated look.

"Sorry. Continue." She cleared her throat, and locked her hands behind her back.

He stepped closer and she was almost pressed into his shoulder as his thumb pressed gently into the middle of her spine. "Four."

Her heartbeat was thundering in her ears, and she had no doubt it was because he was standing so close. It was his scent, so decidedly male that it made her extremely light-headed again.  _Oh hell, I'm going to need that chakra after all._

He stepped back slightly and pressed into the top of her sternum, at the hollow of her throat. "Five."

His hand snaked around the back of her neck and tapped the very top of her spine. "Six."

She was concentrating on slowing her heartbeat as he raised his hand and pressed his thumb in the middle of her forehead. "Seven."

His hand slowly fell to his side as he looked at her expectantly. She resisted the urge to babble. "Forehead would probably be easiest."

He nodded. "Fine, if that's your decision. It's a bigger pathway anyways, it shouldn't be difficult."

She took a deep breath, and adjusted her stance to balance herself better. He stepped closer, and she closed her eyes. He was so close that she felt the warmth coming off his skin, and she nearly yelped in surprise as his hands cupped her face.

"Quit squirming." He tightened his hold on her, he was annoyed. "Just relax; this'll take longer if you're fighting me."

She pressed her lips together, embarrassed by her discomfort. "Okay, what do we do now?"

"I transfer my chakra to you, it may be a little unsettling at first but you'll get used to it. I'll give you enough to give your system a boost to start quickly reproducing your chakra."

Without waiting for an answer, he pressed his forehead to hers. His breath ghosted over her lips as she felt him concentrate. There was a pushing sensation centered at the point where the chakra points met and she grimaced as the pressure built. There was suddenly the sense of something breaking, as one would break down a door and she felt a euphoric rush of chakra enter her body.

"Don't fight it. You have to accept it for this to work." Itachi rumbled, his teeth gritted as he carefully let his chakra flow into her veins.

She didn't speak; she was swept up in the wave of warmth. It twisted through her and reached into every crevice of her system. Even her fingertips felt the heat. Slowly she could feel her pathways responding and soaking up all of the new energy. Her muscles trembled and then relaxed as the damage to them was washed away.

Itachi broke away abruptly, breathing more heavily than she'd ever seen him. Sakura stepped away hastily, not trusting herself to be so close to him. The feeling of the chakra transfusion was still ebbing through her veins and she'd never felt something so euphoric.

"Thanks. I-I think you've given me more than enough." She stammered, avoiding his gaze.

He nodded, his breathing restored to normal. "It's a start. We'll continue tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? We're not making this a regular thing are we?" She could hear the slight note of panic in her voice, and she cursed herself for feeling so rattled.

He sighed, clearly exasperated. "One infusion isn't going to repair the damage. You should know that better than anyone."

Resigned, she nodded. "Okay, but it's on my terms, only when I say I need it."

He sat down, nodding thoughtfully. "Unless I see as team captain that your state is dangerous to the mission. Agreed?"

Annoyed that he'd picked a loophole in her terms, she nodded. "Okay, fine. Are we done here?"

"We leave at dawn, Haruno." He stood and turned his back to her, effectively ending the conversation.

She strode towards the hall and paused in the doorway. "Itachi?"

"Hn?" He glanced over his shoulder, raising his eyebrows.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." He nodded at her, and taking her cue she turned and left.

Settling across from Naruto once back in her room, she drifted in and out of sleep. There were no further incidents during the night and she finally fell into a bone-weary exhaustion as her eyes fluttered shut.


	11. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the chakra transfer, Sakura and Itachi are both left feeling very confused and conflicted. They start on their journey to Suna, unsure if Naruto will survive. The trust between the teammates is growing, which leads to some much-needed, frank discussions.

Itachi remained standing in the middle of the room long after Sakura had left. He was struggling to organize his thoughts, which infuriated him. Control over everything in his life was the only thing that had kept him sane through the last six months. He couldn't control her, and that exasperated him. She was insubordinate, rude, and sometimes just impossible to deal with. And yet, he found himself putting his ability to fight on the line in order to help her.

He didn't know why.

He took a deep breath and took a look at his chakra supply, and he frowned when he realized just how much he'd given to Sakura. She'd soaked up the energy like a sponge, and it shocked him just how eagerly their bodies had responded to the transfer. He had no idea that individual chakra exchange was anything like that. His body was still thrumming with what he could only describe as lightning.

It wasn't a sexual feeling of euphoria exactly, but it left him with the unsettling sense that he would start to crave it. Frustrated, he splashed cold water on his face and tried to meditate. But the now-familiar feeling of being watched was constant, and he couldn't relax. Concentrating, he allowed the sharingan to flood over his eyes, and waited.

The whispers started immediately.

He took a deep breath and tried to isolate what they were saying, hoping for some kind of clarity. Slowly, he was able to isolate a series of words, repeated over and over again.

_You've always been a murderer, a coward, and a traitor. Father always knew that you were weak._

Despite never hearing much of Sasuke's voice as an adult, Itachi would have recognized it anywhere. The whispers could only belong to him; after all, they had come with the sharingan transplant.  _But Haruno couldn't find anything wrong with my eyes; Sakura wouldn't miss something like this if there was a physical source._

The guilt over Sasuke's death wouldn't be enough to drive him crazy would it? He didn't have an answer for that question, and it kept him from sleeping. He tossed and turned in the too-soft inn bed and finally gave up. Settling into the window nook, he watched the moon as it reached its peak and the sky slowly turned into the brilliant colours of dawn.

* * *

Sakura was already awake when Neji returned to the room holding breakfast. She had curled up on the windowsill and was busy writing a long explanatory report to Tsunade. "Hey, thanks for getting food, I didn't realise I was hungry."

"Your colour is a lot better; the chakra transfer must have worked."

Sakura suddenly felt a jolt of something that felt suspiciously like shame. She decided that nonchalance was the best course of action. "Yeah, it did. I don't think I'll need another transfusion, I feel great."

He nodded thoughtfully, chewing on a piece of bread. "Glad to hear it, I was getting concerned when Uchiha told me that you nearly passed out after Naruto's kidneys gave you some trouble."

She shook her head, accepting the apple that he handed her. "You were right to worry; neither of us was in good shape. How is he holding up?"

She avoided using Itachi's name on purpose, and breathed a tiny sigh of relief as Neji didn't appear to notice.

Neji shrugged, adjusting his headband. "Totally fine, his pathways looked normal. I wouldn't worry about him. Just so you know, I sent a bird ahead to the Kazekage; I thought it might be better if Gaara knew what we were bringing his way."

"Good idea, he'd be pissed if we just showed up and didn't explain. Naruto's okay for now, but I'm worried that a quiet night means that something even worse is coming."

Neji sat down in the window nook beside her and directed his gaze at Naruto's sleeping form. "You can't know that. All that we can do to help is to get him somewhere where he'll be safe, and then we can focus on the mission."

Sakura nodded, watching as Naruto's chest rise and fall as he slept. "You're right. I just wish I knew what that blade was made of, and then I would know what to tell Gaara about how to treat him. "

Neji put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She nodded gratefully at him, knowing that this was his way of letting her know that he was sorry about the situation. "Thanks."

She stood up and stretched, then rolled up her completed data scroll. "I'm going to talk to Uchiha about this message; he's probably going to want to approve it before I send it to Tsunade-sama."

"Are you going to send a bird?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, that's too slow. I'm going to send a slug."

Neji chuckled, cracking a rare grin. "Oh, the irony of the speedy slugs."

She nodded, smirking. "I know, I felt that way about them when Tsunade-sama first showed me how to use them, it's weird that they're the most efficient messengers."

"Go on, I can handle keeping an eye on Naruto."

* * *

Itachi's dark eyes popped open as he heard a gentle knock at the door. He darted across the room and looked through the peephole. He saw a flash of pink hair and forced himself to take a deep calming breath and wipe all expression from his face before he opened the door. "Haruno, did something happen with Uzumaki?"

He didn't bother with niceties, he was itching with curiosity as to why she'd come to talk to him. He secretly hoped that she was going to put up another fight against the chakra transfer; he was starting to wonder if it was wise for them to continue.

She shook her head, and he was relieved to see that she didn't appear to be feeling any awkwardness about the night before. "No, he's okay. I wrote a message for the Hokage and I wanted to go over it with you before I sent it off."

He nodded and opened the door all the way. He gestured for her to come inside and then closed the door behind her. "Go ahead."

"Basically I summarized what happened with the mist assassin and then what happened when the second group found us, the important things that have happened so far."

"That's it? I don't really know why you felt that I needed to approve that message. It's the same thing that I told her." He fought the urge to roll his eyes at her. "You wasted your time writing all of that."

She crossed her arms and glared at him. "I wasn't finished."

Feeling slightly chastised, he pressed his lips together and waved a hand for her to continue. "Proceed then, what else did you add?"

She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I also put in a little note about your eyes."

Itachi's blood ran cold and he glared at her. "There's nothing to tell, you're wasting your time."

She matched his glare with one of her own, refusing to back down. "It's serious if your transplant is giving you issues. That's something that she needs to know."

"It isn't giving me issues, you're being dramatic." He could feel a small seed of anxiety growing in his stomach, the worst case scenario would be for the Hokage to lock him up and perform a bunch of tests on him. He decided that he wouldn't allow it.

Sakura bristled and drew herself up to her full height. "Like hell I'm being dramatic, if the stone-cold Uchiha is asking me to check his eyes, he's in some sort of trouble. It's  _my job_  to tell her these things, as you full well know."

He switched tactics and tried reason instead. "Leave my eyes out of it; she doesn't need to know about something so insignificant."

She ignored him and pressed on. "I couldn't find anything wrong with them, but it doesn't mean that there isn't something strange going on. I don't know as much about the sharingan as she does."

"She doesn't know as much as I do, believe me." He felt his tone become steely and he almost regretted his reaction when he saw the look on her face. "I don't think that there's anything to worry about."

She didn't reply, just looked at him for a moment. The silence almost became unbearable and then she uncrossed her arms, finally speaking after what felt like an eternity of silence. "Is it so hard for you to believe that I'm doing this because I'm concerned?"

For the first time since they'd met, Itachi was speechless. She'd spoken so simply, so matter-of-factly that he couldn't think of a response. He decided that it was safer not to say anything at all, so he just nodded.

She closed her eyes for a moment, and then took a deep breath before continuing. "I haven't mentioned anything about the chakra transfer, because I didn't feel like getting a lecture about letting my chakra run low."

"That's a rational idea. Don't mention anything until you need to." He was relieved that she'd changed the subject.

"There's one more thing that I need to talk to you about. Naruto mentioned something yesterday right before we put him under that I think you should know about."

He didn't say anything, just waited.

"Naruto said that Shisui Uchiha is dead."

He was not expecting her to say what she did, and he felt his heart drop into his stomach. "He must have been wrong."

"No. He wasn't wrong; he would only know that if the Hokage told him something before we left!"

"Okay, let's say that you're right and someone murdered my cousin. Fugaku isn't that stupid, it would be too public."

She looked down at her feet and let her arms fall to her sides. "He isn't stupid, but he is desperate. Itachi, if there's anything you haven't told me, now would be the time."

He was silent for a moment, and then he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "You might want to sit down."

She hesitated for a split second, but then slowly lowered herself into the chair in the corner of the room. Sakura didn't have anything to say, so she simply waited for him to continue. Itachi took a deep breath and started to pace.

"The day after the transplant, the Hokage came to visit me. She expressed some concerns about what might happen to me if my father started digging for information. So we came up with a plan to make sure that we were right about my father's plans for Sasuke."

He sat down on the bedspread and laced his fingers together; he didn't look at her as he continued. "So we took a pair of black eyes from a body in the morgue and buried Sasuke with them."

She could feel her heartbeat accelerating and she could feel the pinprick of tears behind her eyes. "Go on." She whispered, willing herself to calm down and wait to panic until she'd heard the rest.

He finally met her eyes, and he looked so tired for a moment that she felt her heart twinge. "His grave was destroyed barely a month later. The eyes were gone, and Sasuke's body wasn't even reburied."

Sakura felt a tear slip down her cheek, and she took a moment to think before she responded. "So your father went after Shisui as soon as he knew that he'd been cheated out of the sharingan."

"I thought something was odd, I wrote to Shisui to get some more information about the sharingan transfusion. He never responded to my letter, which should have tipped me off."

She nodded, wiping her face impatiently. "But Fugaku acted faster than anyone would have expected. If he's got his hands on another sharingan then his eyes aren't his first concern anymore."

"He's going to come after anyone who knows what he's done. That list includes you and Uzumaki." He smirked, shaking his head slightly. "You put these things together faster than most of Konoha's administration, it's a shame you never had more ambition."

She glared at him. "I'm the protégé of the only surviving sannin, who also happens to be your boss. You don't need ambition if you have the respect of the people who matter."

Surprised with the speed of her response, he cracked a rare grin. "Touché."

"So, Tsunade-sama got Sasuke's eyes and the surgeon who originally operated on Sasuke out of the village at the same time. Who is Raiton, really?"

"An Uchiha operative, which is something you aren't supposed to know."

"I'm not supposed to know a lot of things, and yet here we are. Does he really work with the Akatsuki?"

"Yeah, he and my family have worked together for a long time at this point. Fugaku's been trying to gather allies outside of Konoha ever since they caught wind of his plans for rebellion."

"So what's the plan with Raiton? Are you supposed to capture him, or do you have separate orders to kill him when he resists?"

He just looked blankly at her, unsettled by the feeling that he couldn't feign ignorance. She was too clever, which annoyed him. "You can hardly expect me to admit to anything, given that my clearance is a lot higher than yours."

"Well I think Naruto knew more than you did, which makes me wonder if Tsunade-sama had him on another mission entirely."

"I wouldn't be surprised. I think we have a right to know what's going on at this point; it's getting too dangerous to keep us in the dark. I was under the impression that as captain I was supposed to know everything. "

"Concern, Uchiha? You never cease to amaze." Sakura remarked drily, opening her data scroll and editing out the part about Itachi's sharingan issues. "There's no point in hiding things from each other at this point, Neji should be let in as well."

"I'm not telling him everything, it's breaking every single secrecy protocol that you know as much as you do."

"I'm not telling you to disclose your hopes and dreams, Itachi. Just tell him what he needs to know so that he isn't blindsided if shit goes sideways."

"You mean, _when_  it goes sideways? I thought this mission was going amazingly well so far." He remarked drily, turning away from Sakura to hide his smirk.

"Very funny. I'm going to switch with Neji so that you can fill him in. And then you are going to let me check your eyes before we head out." She pointed a stern finger at him. "We are not leaving until I do."

"Just send Hyuuga in, would you?"

Easing the door to the adjacent room open, Sakura waved at Neji to join her in the hallway. He glanced quickly at Naruto's sleeping form and then joined her. "Hey, Uchiha wants to talk to you. We've decided that it would be better to tell you everything about this mission."

"I was wondering when you were going to stop sneaking around and tell me." His tone was amused, and she chucked at his wry expression.

"Sorry, orders came from the top. But there is one thing I want to tell you myself before you talk to Uchiha."

"Secrets within secrets, why am I not surprised to hear that? Go ahead, before Uchiha wonders what's taking us so long."

She sighed, but plowed forward. "Sasuke didn't die on a solo mission, he died in Konoha. We know who killed him, and we know why they did it."

Neji just raised his eyebrows. "Okay, let's hear it."

"Sasuke was sent to kill Itachi by their father. Itachi had lost most of his vision because of the sharingan, and well, he defended himself." She trailed off and ran a hand through her hair.

Taking a deep breath, she continued. "So Itachi received Sasuke's sharingan from the Hokage, restoring his vision. He doesn't like to talk about it, but you need to know the background so that what he's about to tell you will make sense."

Neji nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder as he made his way towards the room where Itachi was waiting. "Thanks for telling me, I'll keep it to myself."

She smiled gratefully at him and settled herself into the chair beside Naruto. Signing quickly, she made a tiny cut in her finger and drew a summoning jutsu circle on the table beside the bed. There was a small puff of smoke and a plump slug appeared. It blinked in the light for a moment, then turned to Sakura and gave a small squeal of delight.

"Sakura-san! I was hoping that you would summon me!"

Sakura smiled widely, leaning a little closer so that her face was eye-level with the little slug. "Hi Ringo, how are you? You grew since the last time I saw you."

The little slug puffed up and drew herself up to her full height. "I did, Tsunade-sama says that I might be one of the biggest slugs she's ever seen someday."

"I'm sure you will be. I was wondering if you could deliver a very important message to her."

"Yeah sure! Do you want me to tell her anything when I give her the scroll?"

"Yes please, can you tell her that the crow is still flying straight towards the storm, but visibility is poor?"

"Okay! Talk to you later, Sakura-san!"

There was a small puff of smoke and the slug disappeared. She felt relieved that she had sent off the message, but a small amount of guilt was now gnawing at her. She hadn't broken her promise to Itachi, but she had hinted that there was something not quite right with the team captain. Her duty was to the Hokage after all, he would have to respect that if he ever found out.

Suddenly she was assaulted by thoughts of the night before, the rush of chakra and the reactions of their bodies. The way that she had clung to his forearms and relaxed into his hands freaked her out; she wasn't okay with the way that her body had absorbed his chakra so readily. She had hoped that her system would have at least put up a fight and been in line with her mental state of denial.

Sakura sighed and put a hand on Naruto's forehead to check his temperature. He seemed to be fine, and she breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't had any incidents during the night.

"I'm sorry that I was so hard on you, I wish I had listened more to what you had to say." She murmured, letting her head fall onto the bedspread beside his ear. "Tsunade-sama obviously told you some things that she didn't want the rest of us to know, which means that I should have trusted you as much as she did."

She adjusted his headband and sighed again, feeling melancholy. "I didn't tell you how much Sasuke's death affected me because I didn't want you to feel like I couldn't be there for you. I know how hard you took it, and I couldn't show you how much I missed Sasuke. I can't believe that I miss how much of a jerk he was to me, because the memories I have are from when we were all together. Do you think that we could have kept our team together if we tried a little harder? Is it wrong to think that maybe Itachi saved Sasuke... from becoming the monster that his father wanted him to be?"

She was about to continue when she heard a small cough from the doorway. Itachi didn't look at her as he spoke. "We're leaving in ten minutes, can he travel?"

"Oh. Yeah, we can. I've sent the message off to the Hokage so we're good to leave." She was a little bit embarrassed to have been caught talking to Naruto, but Itachi showed no sign of having heard what she was saying.

"Good. If you're going to check my eyes, you can do it now."

She nodded and placed her hands on his temples. Itachi closed his eyes and vowed never to tell her that he'd heard every word.

* * *

Sakura was tired, every muscle in her body was aching and she could feel her joints protesting as they darted through the trees. It had been a quiet day, there hadn't been any fights and Naruto had remained fairly stable. She'd been forced to feed more chakra into his veins every time that they had stopped to rest but he hadn't suffered any more organ failures.

She was concerned about the blade that he'd been stabbed with and she hoped that the detailed description she'd included in her message to the Hokage could help Tsunade find out what it was. She sighed with relief when Itachi signaled that they could stop for the night.

Sakura was washing her face in a small brook when she heard a sound that was oddly reminiscent of choking. She glanced over to where her teammates were setting up camp and her blood ran cold.

Naruto was gasping like a fish out of water, his face straining with agony. Sakura shot up and rushed to his side. "Neji, hold his head steady!"

He darted over and propped Naruto up on his knees, as Sakura dug frantically in her medical kit. Finding the syringe she was looking for, she whipped off the cap and plunged it into Naruto's thigh.

"He's having a heart attack; I'm trying to reset his system. Keep him steady, I need to get his heart back into a steady rhythm!"

The adrenaline shot sped through his bloodstream and his body began to tremble violently. "I don't know if he's in limbo right now, you may have to restrain his arms. His subconscious might think he's being attacked." She was surprised at how steady her voice was, considering her teammate was on the verge of death again.  _I've been here before with Sasuke, that's why._

"Got it."

Naruto remained passive, sweat breaking out over his body as the adrenaline ran its course. He relaxed suddenly and his whole body became limp.

Bending over so her ear was firmly pressed against his chest, she strained to hear a pulse. It was weak, too weak to get any blood to his brain. She was running out of time before there was irreparable harm caused by a lack of oxygen and chakra. " _Dammit_!"

Gathering her hands together and harnessing her own dwindling chakra supply, she ripped his jacket open and placed her hands over his heart. She forced it into his body, as quickly as possible and then withdrew just as suddenly. His torso jerked with the force of the shock.

"Neji, is his chakra moving at all?!" She repeated the action, and chakra burns began to form on her hands and his pectorals. Ignoring the sting, she shocked him again.

Neji nodded, his arms still holding Naruto's neck stable as Sakura shocked him once more. "It's moving, I think you've restored his pathways."

"Good, we're not out of the danger yet. Hold his head steady!" She snapped as she began chest compressions. It wasn't doing anything but she couldn't give up, that's when she suddenly had an idea.

She struck his diaphragm with the heel of her hand, and Naruto arched upwards as air was sucked into his lungs from the force of the blow. He collapsed back down, chest rising and falling with frantic breaths. She quickly checked for a pulse. It was fluttering, but strong. She sagged with relief.

"I need to get him to a hospital as quickly as possible. My supplies can't hold out much longer, how far away is Suna from here?"

Neji thought for a moment, brow furrowed. "At our pace, it'll take half a day at least if we don't run into any trouble. With the increase in complications, we should try and calculate the next attack."

Sakura shook her head miserably. "There's no point, his body is trying to shut down. I already know that there's no easily measurable time frame to estimate his deterioration. His chakra flares dramatically, that's our only warning."

"That's better than nothing. How are you feeling?" Neji gently set Naruto's head down on his pack.

"Weak. But it's manageable. I can handle another minor attack, but anything long term is out of the cards for now." She settled back onto her knees, wiping the sweat from her brow.

Glancing up, Neji nodded. "Uchiha, Sakura needs another infusion. Naruto went into cardiac shock a moment ago."

Having been far too distracted, Sakura hadn't even noticed that Itachi had returned from gathering firewood. "I'm okay, he's fine now." She protested weakly, waving off Neji's concern.

"You have minimal movement in your system; you're going to collapse any moment." Neji handed her a water bottle. "I will see to Naruto."

"Haruno, he's right." Itachi sat on a stump, fingers laced.

She shook her head. "I've taken enough already. I still have to stabilize his heart."

Shakily, she pushed herself closer to Naruto and dredged up another measure of chakra. Breathing hard, she fed it into his major arteries, placing small pockets of pressure-controlled energy though his bloodstream. If they started to contract again the chakra would disperse and give the muscles the strength they needed to dilate and stop the cardiac arrest.

Putting out a hand to steady herself as she withdrew, she was hit by a wave of vertigo. The clearing was spinning and she couldn't focus her eyes properly. Her heart skipped a beat, and the strength melted out of her limbs.

"I think I might actually need some of that chakra now. If you're still offering, that is." Smiling weakly, she tried to push herself to her feet.

Itachi crossed the clearing in three purposeful strides and knelt down beside her. Gathering her in his arms, he lifted her with little effort and moved to the perimeter of the camp. She had no energy to protest.

Blearily, she could make out Neji moving to Naruto's side from the fire. She couldn't make out the veins of his Byakugan but she knew he was monitoring chakra paths. "Go ahead, I will let you know if anything changes." He called softly, eyes intent on the immobile shinobi.

Once out of the clearing, Itachi set her gently on her feet. He untied his headband, and let it drop at his feet. Brushing his hair away from his forehead, he glanced at her. "Neji's got him, relax."

Swaying slightly on her feet, she nodded. "I think I'm going to pass out." She let out a tiny, weak laugh. "I thought I could handle it."

"You should have stopped sooner; you've pushed yourself too far." He was half a step away, tensed to catch her if she fell.

"I was busy…are we going…to get this over with…or what?" She was having trouble staying conscious, and black spots swam in front of her eyes as she struggled to form words.

"Dammit!" He growled. He pressed his forehead to hers without another second of hesitation.

Eyes closed, Sakura concentrated what little energy she had left into her pressure point. She immediately felt the slight pushing against her chakra channels and she let go of her control. Once again surrendering herself to the flow of energy, the feeling of chakra flooding into her veins was intoxicating. She soaked it up greedily, feeling her body slowly responding. It was pouring into her so quickly that although she could breathe normally again, her head was spinning. She lost her balance slightly and took a hurried step backwards to avoid falling over.

Itachi let out a sudden grunt of pain, and yanked her back towards him.

"Don't pull away like that." He was speaking through gritted teeth. "It's hard enough keeping you from draining me."

"Sorry!" She whispered, trying to stay as still as possible as his shoulder poked uncomfortably into her chin. His arm was still wrapped around her shoulders, his grip like iron. They stood like that for a few moments, and she sighed in relief as she regained her strength.

Sakura could feel him trembling slightly, and realizing just how much chakra he'd already expended, she forcibly yanked her pressure point closed.

He drew back suddenly, forehead burning in pain and eyes blazing.

" _What_  are you doing?" He demanded, his volume no higher than a whisper but lacking no ferocity.

"That's enough." She replied wearily, too worn out to argue properly. She felt a flicker of irritation as he clenched his jaw and tightened his arm around her shoulders. "Seriously, let go."

"You were completely drained not even five minutes ago, don't be stupid." He growled, not budging. "Forget about your pride, it's not just your life on the line here. You used up so much healing Uzumaki that if you were anyone else you would be  _dead_  right now."

"You're in no position to talk." She snapped back, shrugging his arm off. "How much did you use during the transfer yesterday? You've got to be running on fumes."

His eyes narrowed, and she could see his jaw clenching as he fought to keep his temper in check.

"I got what I needed, thanks." She turned away, frustrated at his attitude. She really did feel better, but she still couldn't ignore the bone deep exhaustion in her body.

"Sakura, wait." He was in front of her in a flash. "Yeah, I'm running lower than usual but I can take it."

She sighed in frustration. "There's a difference between supplementing me and killing yourself. You're blurring the line, Itachi."

He crossed his arms, stubborn as ever. "Just take it, I'm offering."

She shook her head. "No, we're done here."

He took a step towards her. "This is so tiresome; you're acting like a child."

She ignored that comment, and took a step backwards. "I'll take first watch, thanks again."

Spinning on her heel, she turned and smacked into his chest. "Ooof! Dammit, you have got to  _stop_  doing that!" She growled. "I don't want any more of your help!"

He took a menacing step towards her, and she backed up to avoid him, bumping into a tree. "This isn't still about your grudge against me, is it?" His voice was quiet, and she suddenly felt a flash of shame.

"No. It's not." She insisted, not really sure if she was telling the truth.

"Really. So if I were anyone else, would you still be so against my help?" He asked quietly, taking another step towards her. She didn't budge, she could dash to the side to avoid him but she had a feeling he was itching for an argument.

"I don't know! I just really don't like owing anyone anything, and I don't have to explain myself to you-"

She cut off suddenly as his arms came up on either side of her head.

"I am not my brother. You should know that by now." He said softly, his breath ghosting over her lips. She avoided his gaze, unnerved by his direct gaze. She couldn't help seeing Sasuke's cold, familiar stare in his expression.

"I know." She whispered, her heart beating madly from his proximity.

"Do you blame me for his death?" Itachi asked, a curious expression on his face, and she felt her stomach drop.

Slowly, she shook her head. "No, I don't. I think I blame myself more than anything."

Brow furrowed, he stared at her. "What makes you think you could have stopped him?"

"It's not that, when he got wheeled in I should have tried harder to save him." She whispered, refusing to look him in the eye. "There were other things I could have tried."

"Sakura, look at me." His fingers were suddenly under her chin, and she finally raised her eyes to meet his.

"I don't care if you could have done more, you  _tried_  to help him. I don't know of many people who'd be willing to help him at all." He said wryly, a faint smirk on his face.

"I can't believe you'd say that about your own brother!" She huffed disapprovingly. "Yeah, he was a jerk but he was still a friend."

"So you forgive me, then?" He asked solemnly, all traces of laughter gone.

"I didn't try to kill you the night Sasuke died, that should make it pretty clear."

He let out a sigh, and she realised he'd been holding his breath waiting for her answer. "So you're a major pain in my ass, because…?"

"I'm just difficult." She mused, shrugging. "And you reminded me of Sasuke, so I just didn't trust you."

He chuckled softly, and she couldn't help the slight smile that crept across her lips. "I didn't like you either, just for the record."

"Okay, fair enough."

"Get some rest, you're going to need it to travel to Suna tomorrow."


	12. Intrigue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsunade deals with a threat in the village. Sakura, Itachi, and Neji make it to Suna with Naruto barely clinging to life. The team reunites with Gaara and Shikamaru. They aren't in Suna long before an enemy reveals himself, much to their shock and dismay.

Tsunade opened her eyes slowly, hating the rays of sunlight that were shining directly on her very-hungover head. She sat up gradually, blearily reaching for a bottle of water that Shizune had thoughtfully left for her. Once she returned to feeling human, she reread Sakura's message.

She was very concerned, not only for Naruto's sake, but about the coded message that Ringo had delivered with the scroll. She had cleared Itachi herself for missions, but he was obviously keeping something from the administration. She sighed, and made a mental note to contact Sakura herself as soon as she found out what she needed to know from Fugaku Uchiha.

As soon as she had that thought, there was a knock on her office door. Scowling, she pushed her office chair away from her desk and stood up. "Come in, Fugaku."

 _Speak of the devil and he shall appear._ Her already dark mood deepened when the head of the Uchiha clan strode into her office like he owned the place.

"Tsunade, your message came as something of a surprise," He remarked casually, settling into the chair opposite her own. He folded his arms, waiting expectantly.

Tsunade bristled at his familiarity, but masked it well. She'd summoned him for two reasons. Firstly, she wanted to look at his eyes to confirm her suspicions, and secondly, she was determined to keep up her ruse of ignorance. Removing herself completely from him would rouse his suspicions and the last thing that she needed was to have him shift his attention to Itachi and Sakura's mission.

"Thank you for coming so quickly. I apologize for my distance over the last months, I wanted to express my condolences about Sasuke's death. The funeral certainly wasn't the time or place to discuss it; I'll answer any questions that you have about that night if you're feeling up to it."

Fugaku paused, and she sensed the slight tension that appeared in his shoulders when she used his son's name. "I appreciate that. My son was the most important person in the world to me. Naturally, I thank you for your discretion in this matter."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed, "My…discretion?"

Fugaku ran a hand over his eyes, and she noticed the telltale flicker of a camouflage jutsu.  _His eyes, he can damn well see everything now._

"Sasuke was murdered, that much I know. The only person who would have a motive is my eldest. Itachi has always resented the attention that I gave Sasuke. I admit that I could have been more balanced in my affection; however had I been given a choice, I wouldn't have chosen him as my son."

Feeling a pang of pity for Itachi, Tsunade leaned back in her chair. "Naturally, sibling rivalry is at the heart of most families. However, I'll admit that I struggle to see why Itachi would go after Sasuke like that. I have it on good authority that he was on a mission outside the village that night. Unless you intend to enlighten me on the matter of Uchiha politics, then please continue."

"Is that so?" Fugaku's tone had turned icy cold, and he fixed his unsteady gaze upon her. "Then what was he doing in the Hokage tower?"

She had to think quickly. "Surely you aren't unaware of the shadow clone jutsu. Itachi sent in a clone to report to me, he was in Suna. You may confirm that fact with the Kazekage if you would like." She made a mental note to ask Gaara to play along, perhaps sending Shikamaru in person to deliver the message.

Tsunade knew that she was walking on thin ice. Her goal was to catch Fugaku in a lie, although it served her purposes to make him think that she was satisfied with his answers. She had already pierced through his clever camouflage jutsu and confirmed that his sharingan was suddenly in perfect condition. It was crucial that she was subtle; her plan would be ruined if he caught wind of her examining his sharingan from a distance.

"I intend to. It wasn't enough to murder my heir as he was returning home, but quite another to steal his sharingan and desecrate his body!" Fugaku rose and slammed his fist on the desk, upsetting the bottle of water.

"Explain yourself!" Tsunade snapped, snatching her pile of unfinished paperwork off of the desk to avoid water damage. She was unsettled; she'd barely managed to mask her chakra in time. He didn't give any sign of feeling that his jutsu had been tampered with.

"Sasuke was buried with his sharingan, I made sure to see to that myself. If you have something to tell me, then you had better spit it out!"

She rose from her chair and drew herself up to her full height. Fixing Fugaku with her steeliest look, she was satisfied to see him wilt slightly and return to his chair.

"My apologies, Hokage-sama, I should not have lost my temper. Sasuke's body was ripped out of the ground and his eyes were taken from his body. We found his grave disturbed and left open to the elements. I have never been so angry in my life."

He was lying through his teeth, but Tsunade didn't call him on it. "I didn't know. Fugaku, that is horrible. Why do you think that Itachi would do it?"

"For revenge, he hated Sasuke with everything that he had," Fugaku gripped his hands tightly together, playing the part of a doting father. "Itachi must have been nearly blind; he was desperate for a sharingan."

"How do you know that?"

"My nephew, Shisui told me. He was the only person in our family who would still speak to him. I can't imagine why, but he told me several years ago that Itachi was starting to lose his sight. It wasn't enough to kill Sasuke, but to murder Shisui as well…" He trailed off, shaking his head.

Tsunade felt a flash of anger. He was the epitome of evil, a man so cruel and selfish that he did not regret murdering his family to get what he wanted. He was willing to sacrifice both of his sons; she pitied both Sasuke and Itachi for having been unfortunate enough to be his blood. She vowed to take him down, if it was the last thing that she did.

"So you think that when he couldn't get Sasuke's eyes he went after his cousin. Your kekkei genkai comes at a great cost, doesn't it?"

"It does. There is one person who can help me; I need to speak to her as soon as possible. I need to know what she can tell me about how Itachi tortured Sasuke."

"Who?" Tsunade felt a flash of fear, knowing deep in her bones who Fugaku was talking about.

"Sakura Haruno, your little apprentice. She was the first to operate on Sasuke; I want to know if he said anything before he died. She may have the proof I need to take my revenge on Itachi, have him taken to trial."

Feeling her heart drop into her stomach, Tsunade's mind began to whir as she tried to figure out how to turn Fugaku off this train of thought.  _He's worried that Sasuke told her what really happened; if he gets his hands on her she's as good as dead._

Taking a steadying breath, she shrugged. "There were five medics working on him when he got here. To my knowledge, he never said anything to anyone. There was too much damage and blood loss. I got there only a moment before he was gone, I'm sorry."

"I would like to speak with her if it's all the same to you. I understand that she grew up with Sasuke and was on his team. I would like to thank her for her efforts." His voice was neutral, but Tsunade could hear an undercurrent of anger in his tone.

"Well she's in Suna at the moment. I sent her to study with Lady Chiyo for a few months. As I'm sure you can imagine she took Sasuke's death pretty hard. "

"Ah. Well I would like to meet with her when she returns. Ideally before Itachi can get to her, I couldn't live with myself if he killed her too."

"Sakura can take care of herself."

_Besides, Itachi wouldn't do that. And we both know that he is a good person, despite all of your teachings._

Tsunade smirked, "Itachi wouldn't be that stupid, even if he is as impulsive and hateful as you say. My wrath isn't something that anyone would want to be the subject of."

She let her silent threat hang in the air between them.

Fugaku nodded, placated for the moment. "Very well then, I will wait. I don't need any information about your surgery, I read the medical record. I just needed to express to you how dangerous Itachi is. You would be wise to heed my warning and have him turned over to the police for questioning as soon as possible. This is Uchiha business."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at him, not trusting herself to say anything neutral about that last statement. "Well then, shall I take a look at your eyes before you leave?

Her tone did not give anything away, and Fugaku shook his head a little too quickly. He stood and made his way towards the door, taking extra care to pretend to have trouble seeing. "No, thank you. Their deterioration has not changed since the last time you examined them."

"Fugaku, a moment more of your time, please."

He turned, one eyebrow raised. She fixed him with a neutral smile.

"Don't worry; I'll be keeping a very close eye on this case. I'll be giving it my full attention; I'll contact you if I learn anything new. In the meantime, I expect that you will allow me to conduct my investigation quietly. And you are to stop watching my tower or my ANBU officers will respond in kind."

He stiffened, and then gave a tiny inclination of his head before striding out of her office and slamming the door behind him. Tsunade let out the anxious breath that she had been holding. Grabbing a piece of paper, she began to write feverishly.

Opening a window, she whistled for a messenger hawk. Tying the message to its leg, she watched it streak out of sight. Collapsing into her chair, she yelled towards the door, "Shizune, I need some sake! And I need Shikamaru,  _now_!"

The hawk extended its wings and caught an updraft. Flying at top speed, it carried a message that could spell death if it wasn't delivered. It headed straight into the sunset, west towards Suna and hopefully, Sakura.

* * *

_Sakura,_

_Don't come back to the village! Whatever you do, you are not to return until I tell you that it is_   _safe. Fugaku knows that you were the last person to talk to Sasuke and wants to use you to make sure that Itachi is put to death. Keep each other safe, watch your backs, and do not respond to me. The slugs are safe for communication, but only in an emergency. I'm being watched. I have sent messages to Suna, they're expecting you. Gaara will fill you in on the rest._

_Be careful._

_-Tsunade_

* * *

Soft light peered through her eyelids, basking Sakura in the golden light of dawn. She was comfortably warm and resented being somewhat awake. Not ready to face the day, she rolled over onto her side and burrowed deeper into her bedroll. A few moments passed before she became aware of someone breathing slowly next to her. Sakura blearily opened her eyes to see Itachi curled up in his own bedroll, barely a foot away. She started, quickly scooting farther away from him until she suddenly realised that he was deeply asleep.

Peering closer, she was struck with a bone-deep feeling of melancholy. Asleep, Itachi looked so much like Sasuke that it made her heart ache with memory. She had never seen him look so vulnerable, his face was relaxed in such a way that she could see the faint echoes of the child that he had been so long ago. She watched him for a few moments, lost in thought. Unconsciously, she found herself feeling protective, noticing with some confusion that his open hand was laying palm up towards her. She wondered if he had reached out to her in his sleep.

Suddenly, the memories of the previous night washed over her and she blushed deeply. Itachi pinning her to the tree was something that she would rather forget, regardless of whether he'd had innocent intentions or not.

After the chakra exchange and their discussion, Itachi had slung her arm over his shoulders and more or less carried her over to Naruto. She had barely lain down in her bed roll before she had fallen fast asleep. She wasn't sure when he had also gone to bed, but it made her nervous just how close his pack was to her own.  _Relax Sakura, he's just protecting the medic._

Her gaze wandered slowly to his forehead, where she could see a small chakra burn. Checking her own, she realised that it must have happened to both of them when she had forcibly closed the connection. Feeling slightly guilty, she took stock of her injuries and judged that she was just sore and exhausted. She'd felt worse, much worse.

Glancing over at Itachi once more, she wondered how he was feeling. It wasn't like him to admit when he was tired or sore, but she had to admit that she didn't even know that he could sleep like a normal person. She assumed that ANBU agents had trained their bodies to no longer need it, but apparently he was still human. Sakura relaxed back into her blanket, shooting a glance over her other shoulder to see that Naruto was sleeping peacefully. She rolled over to take his vitals, careful not to make any noise.

After she was satisfied with his health, she turned back over with the intention of healing the chakra burns without Itachi noticing. She concentrated and closed her eyes, feeling the skin on her forehead smoothing over with minimal effort. She then focused the chakra into her hand and was reaching out towards Itachi's burn when she realised that his eyes were open. Startled, she froze with her hand stretched out towards him and the chakra fizzled out.

"Nice bedhead," he remarked casually, and she couldn't help noticing that when his voice was rough with sleep it was deeper than usual. Shooting upright, she stomped out of the clearing, heading for the stream. She was so embarrassed and absorbed in her own thoughts that she barely acknowledged Neji's greeting as she passed.

As soon as he saw the shocked look on her face, it took of Itachi's willpower not to burst out laughing. She had looked so mortified and a bright red blush had colored her cheeks. He hadn't expected her reaction, in fact he had expected her to just huff at him. He rolled over and stretched, then quickly packed up his bedroll. Settling down beside Naruto, he let his mind wander for a moment.

He was rather shocked at himself; he wasn't in the habit of making jokes but something about her made him want to get a reaction out of her whenever he could. He should have kept his distance. Itachi wasn't used to feeling any kind of emotion for anyone; it came with the loner's territory. As far as he was concerned, if he didn't let anyone in he couldn't get hurt.

Old wounds ran deep and he found it difficult to trust anyone. But Sakura, somehow, had managed to get him to care about something. In a matter of days, their interactions had changed from quietly hostile to friendly, almost comforting. He was most annoyed about falling asleep beside her; he didn't like to let his guard down around anyone. The look of concern on her face as she'd reached out to him had shaken his composure.

He didn't like it one bit. And he most certainly disliked the protective, almost territorial way that he was feeling about her. In fact, he hated it.

_It's the chakra transfer; it's messing with my head. Give it a few days and it'll be totally gone._

He glanced around the clearing for her, but she was nowhere to be seen. But then he realised it, he had been able to fall asleep because he wasn't hearing Sasuke's whispers.

Sakura scrubbed her face with the clear water, trying to clear her head. It wasn't working, she needed something more intense. Peeling off her shirt and shorts, she dove into the water and swam out to the middle of the pool that the stream's water flowed into. She took a deep breath and allowed herself to sink to the bottom. Thinking hard, she tried to calm her mind and focus on the sunlight filtering into the water above her. She let out a stream of bubbles in annoyance when she saw a shadow cross the surface of the water, knowing immediately that it was Itachi. Taking her time, she slowly surfaced, waiting for him to either make fun of her or berate her for swimming.

To her surprise, he did neither of those things. Blinking water out of her eyes, she saw that he was carrying a messenger hawk from Konoha on one arm. "This scroll is for you, probably from the Hokage."

She darted out of the water and eagerly grabbed the message out of his outstretched hand. Immediately, she ripped open the seal and read the message. "Oh shit."

"What?" Itachi was reading over her shoulder in a flash, and she jumped when his voice came from right behind her ear. "What does she say?"

She re-rolled the message and darted over to where her clothes were. Suddenly self-conscious that she was wearing very little clothing, she pulled them on and started talking quickly. "Your father knows that I was the last person to speak to Sasuke, Tsunade says that it's not safe for me in Konoha for now. Who knows how long I'll have to stay away."

Itachi let out a tiny sigh of relief, he had been nervous that Sakura had sent another message about his eyes. But he knew that she wouldn't do that, he trusted her. "We already suspected that he knows."

"Yeah but now Tsunade's being watched, and she wants us to go to Suna for sure. Gaara is in on the plan to keep me away."

He frowned, "What aren't you telling me?"

She sighed and held the note out to him, "Fugaku seems to think that I am the proof he needs to get rid of you."

"Why? It's not like Sasuke told you anything."

"Itachi, it doesn't matter what's true at this point." Sakura squeezed out her wet hair, thinking hard.

"He's got so much political leverage. It would be so easy for Fugaku to make up some sort of fake statement to get you executed. I'm useful to him if I'm dead. He could kill me and blame you."

"I wouldn't kill you."

"That's not the point! I'm a liability, a loose end-"

Itachi was studying the note, thinking. His expression was unreadable, and she had to wave a hand in front of his face to get his attention. "Itachi, hey!"

He snapped out of his thoughts for a moment and waited for her to continue.

"I'm not going to tell him anything." She looked anxious, hugging her arms to her chest. Looking everywhere but at him, she continued, "I believe that you were defending yourself. He's better off killing me too if it'll stop a coup in Konoha."

"Sakura, don't. It's not going to come to that." He was shaken by her statement, confused as to why she was willing to sacrifice herself. "He's not going to get near you. I won't let that happen. And neither will Hokage-sama." He added on the last part hastily when he saw her eyes widen.

"I know, but anything could happen. I don't know if I should be on this mission, what happens when Fugaku realises that I'm travelling with you?"

Itachi set his jaw and crossed his arms. "Look, nothing is going to happen. Neji and I will protect you, besides he doesn't know where we are right now. Pack up your stuff and get Naruto ready to travel. We're leaving for Suna in five minutes."

He strode out of the clearing before she could say anything more. Feeling chastised and somewhat annoyed, she followed him.

Two days later, after stopping for the fourth time that day to give Naruto a little bit more chakra, Sakura saw the spires of Suna rising above the sand dunes. Since they had left the forest, she had been anxious and paranoid. She was comfortable in the trees, but the sand just seemed too open. Tsunade's letter had made her fearful, not only for herself, but for Itachi and the fate of Konoha

"Sakura, have some water." She turned and gratefully accepted the bottle that Neji handed her. He watched her drink, and then he suddenly spoke. "I understand now why you didn't want everyone to know about Sasuke's death."

She could only stare at him, unsure what he was getting at. "I- uh what?"

"Itachi showed me the message from the Hokage. You are right to be worried about that information getting out. Fugaku Uchiha doesn't seem to be the kind of man who would let loose ends out of his sight." He spoke plainly, shrugging at her confusion.

"So what do you suggest?"

"Frankly, you're better off staying in Suna or getting out towards the edges of the Land of Wind. Itachi expressed concern that Fugaku has a spy network spread out over most of the Land of Fire."

"Well he didn't tell me that." She was annoyed, and itching for the chance to give Itachi a piece of her mind.

"He didn't want to cause any undue panic, but I also think that he thought of it recently. His thoughts seemed less concise than usual." He was calm, but she knew him well enough to know when he was troubled. "Tell me, do you think that Fugaku is dangerous enough to make the Hokage worry like this? I don't know the man, from what you told me he isn't a good person."

Sakura shuddered; and a chill of disgust ran down her spine. "He sent his favorite son to kill his heir because he didn't trust him. He knew that Sasuke didn't have a chance and counted on getting his sharingan. He's dangerous as hell."

"If he's dangerous enough to make the Hokage move cautiously, we should take this very seriously. We should ask Gaara what he thinks of all of this. There isn't any love lost between him and the Uchiha, I'm sure he'll help us. And he'll help you without question."

Sakura shot him an annoyed look. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Neji smiled enigmatically, "Nothing, let's just get going."

Sakura huffed and followed him, hoisting Naruto up onto her shoulders for the last stretch.

An hour later they were walking underneath the gate to the city, relieved to be in the shade. Sakura popped her head up at the approach of booted feet. Gaara himself led a large group of shinobi towards them, a rare shy smile on his face. She felt herself grinning back, so relieved to be back among allies that she picked up the pace and darted ahead of her team.

Gaara was waiting for her motioning for his attendants to take Naruto off her shoulders. "Sakura, it's so good to see you. This is Takaharu, he'll take Naruto to Grandma Chiyo."

He gestured to the man standing on his left. Sakura smiled and extended her hand.

"We've actually met. How's your wife?"

Takaharu grinned and shook her hand. "Wonderful, she totally recovered thanks to your medicine."

"I'm glad. I'll come and talk to everyone about what happened as soon as I fill the Kazekage in. Keep me posted as to his condition."

Gaara's expression gave away very little of this thoughts as Neji and Itachi strode up next to them. "You may be up very late; I also have information from the Hokage for you."

"Thank you Kazekage, we are grateful for your help." Itachi's voice was muffled, and Sakura realised that he'd put on his mask without her noticing.

"Anything for you, my friends. I hear you finally killed your brother?" Gaara's tone was slightly mocking and Sakura was surprised to see that he was smirking at Itachi.

A dark chuckle resounded from behind the mask. "Jealous, Gaara? I hear you wanted to do it yourself."

"I didn't know that you two know each other." Neji was amused, and he was also grinning at Gaara.

"Drinking buddies from time to time, you know how it is." Gaara shrugged and gestured to the Kazekage complex. "Come, I want to hear all about this shitshow that Konoha's dealing with."

"Shit hitting the fan, you mean." Sakura muttered, more to herself than anyone else. She was surprised when she heard Itachi snicker quietly. She turned red and walked faster, she hadn't realised that he was right behind her.

Reaching Gaara's office, the three of them walked in to find hot meals waiting for them. Gaara sat down and unfurled a long data scroll. "Please, eat and rest. You've had quite the journey. I guess this all starts with Sasuke's death?"

Itachi removed his mask, settling into one of the chairs placed before the Kazekage's desk. "It starts with an attempted coup d'état years ago, but you already knew that."

"So. Sasuke's death was the most recent catalyst." Gaara's expression was thoughtful. "I suppose that you had better start at the beginning."

Itachi began the story and Sakura finished it. Neji added in comments here and there about the fights and the shinobi who had been sent after them, but Gaara didn't interject during the story. An hour later when they were finished, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in thought.

"Well then," He began, gesturing at the data scroll. "Apparently Naruto wasn't sent along because he's an expert on hidden scrolls. Tsunade wrote in here that she sent him along to protect you, Sakura. And also she wanted to protect Sasuke's eyes."

Itachi sat as still as a statue, while Sakura's mouth dropped open. "What? Naruto can't keep a secret to save his life!"

"Well he did to save yours."

"I can't believe that he would keep this from me!"

Neji spoke up, "I can. He's not subtle by any means, but he'll do what he has to in order to protect his friends."

"That's why he knew about Shisui. She told him, and then he told you." Itachi's tone was even, but Sakura knew that he was angry.

"I don't understand why she didn't tell us. Is there even a Raiton that we're supposed to go after?"

Itachi's expression darkened. "Yes, he's real. But I have orders to kill him and his entire team. It's two problems solved with one mission."

Gaara narrowed his eyes. "You kill an Uchiha operative and Tsunade gets the two things that Fugaku wants most out of the village at the same time. Very smart. She included in her letter that she was forced to lie to him as to Itachi's whereabouts on the night of Sasuke's death and where you are now."

"Let me guess, that's here." Itachi's tone was flat, he sounded exhausted.

"Yes. Tsunade and I have the strongest alliance; it makes sense that she would trust me to take care of my allies. However, I'm going to have to convince Lady Chiyo to cooperate in the lie."

"What did she tell Fugaku?" Sakura was skeptical, it wasn't like Tsunade to be untruthful.

"Well it just says here that she told him that you took Sasuke's death badly, so she sent you here to train with Lady Chiyo for a few months until you felt ready to return. In that case, you could remain here indefinitely."

"It could work." Sakura shrugged, not unhappy with her mentor. "We've worked together plenty of times, I think we could convince her with very little effort."

"You are welcome to stay." Gaara nodded thoughtfully. "We could always use another medic of your caliber around here."

Before Sakura could reply, the door to the office was flung open and a ruffled Shikamaru dashed into the room.

"Shikamaru? What the hell-" Gaara began, letting the sand that he'd swung up to protect them all fall away.

"Sorry Gaara, we've got a big problem." Shikamaru was out of breath, and he was panting hard. "I barely got here in time. Fugaku Uchiha's here in Suna and he's demanding to talk to Sakura."

Sakura felt her blood run cold.


	13. Manipulation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura is forced to talk to Fugaku Uchiha face to face. She knows that he is trying to manipulate her, but he reveals a new piece of information that shocks her to her core.

Sakura felt her blood run cold, and she barely noticed when Itachi stepped in front of her. "What does he want to talk to her about?" He didn't raise his voice, but the urgency in his question was still clear.

"He's planted in front of Gaara's council, hollering about seeing Sakura for some kind of official Konoha investigation. It's annoying as hell, but Tsunade sent me here to warn you."

"What's happened in Konoha?" Itachi took another step towards him. "Did the Hokage-"

"She's fine." Shikamaru cut him off and pointed at Sakura. "He only wants her; I don't think he knows about the rest of you. He can't know about you guys and Naruto has to be kept a secret. Orders come from the top."

"Gaara, we need to get somewhere safe. Shikamaru, did the Hokage have any kind of message for us?"  
Itachi was still standing in front of Sakura as he spoke, his brow furrowed in concern. She could tell that he was thrown; she wondered what he was thinking.

"Just the message that she gave to Gaara, I don't think that she had a lot of time before he left the village. Gaara, got an escape route?" Shikamaru scratched his neck and yawned.

"Yes of course, come with me." Gaara swept past them towards the hallway and pressed a wall tile. The wall slid open with a crash, opening into a dark tunnel. "You four need to get to the east tower in the complex, it's the medical wing. Sakura is supposed to be there anyways, keep out of sight. I'll deal with Fugaku."

He strode towards the stairs, ruffled at having to use his authority.

"I will try and calm him down. I'll have my advisors take him to a more private meeting place. Wait for my message before you move in the medical bay. I'll send Temari to find you." Gaara's voice was getting fainter, and then he was gone.

Shikamaru and Neji were already moving, disappearing down the dark tunnel.

"How did he know that we were here?!" Sakura was panicking, and Itachi had to loop his arm around her shoulders to drag her along as they took off down a series of dark hallways.

"He had a meeting with the Hokage a couple of days ago. She told me to move my ass here in case he decided to come and check out what she'd told him. He took an official task force and everything; he's trying to bring a lot of attention to this."  
Shikamaru's voice was muffled, he was moving confidently ahead of them as they sped towards the medical tower.

"It's me that he wants." Itachi finally spoke, still towing Sakura along. She felt her anxiety mounting and her heart seemed to leap into her throat.

"Tsunade told me. He wants to take you down in front of everyone; honestly I don't give a shit what it's about." Shikamaru was visibly annoyed.

"I got here barely an hour before he did. Gaara and I only had a chance to quickly go over my message, I got summoned to the gate and there he was, the hot air balloon himself."

"He said that he's here in an official capacity?" Itachi's brow was still furrowed, and he finally let his arm drop from Sakura's shoulders when they slowed to a stop in front of a large metal door.

"Yeah, he brought escorts and everything. He wants a public meeting with Gaara, which is why I have to get back there. A leaf envoy could be the only thing that shuts him up."

"Thank you Shikamaru." Sakura finally found her voice and she smiled weakly at him. Suddenly, her logic returned and she had a chilling thought. "Wait, whatever you do, don't let him provoke Gaara."

"Why would he do that?" Shikamaru raised one eyebrow, confused.

It was Neji who answered, crossing his arms. "It would benefit him if Konoha and Suna went to war. An unstable Konoha is exactly what he needs to make a move."

Sakura nodded, "If he pisses off Gaara then he has everything he needs to persuade the council in Konoha that Suna is harboring a fugitive."

Itachi crossed his arms. "I'm only going to be a fugitive if he silver-tongues his way into Gaara's head."

"No way. Even if he is an Uchiha –no offense Itachi- there's no chance he would be that dumb." Shikamaru shook his head, turning the handle on the door. "But I'll pass on the message."

"Thanks." Sakura walked into the room behind him, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the bright fluorescent lighting. The group passed through several store rooms before entering a large covered courtyard. Shikamaru gestured at a room to the side, walking past the front desk.

"I guess if you're supposed to be a medic studying here you'd better put a white coat on. They're in there, and Temari will be here in a minute. She'll take you to where you'll meet Gaara. I gotta go do damage control."

Sakura was already pulling on a white coat and ripping a piece of fabric from her pack to tie her hair up. She didn't even notice that Shikamaru was gone. Satisfied that she looked the part, she turned around to see Itachi frowning at her. "What?"

"Your sandals are covered in dirt and sand, you'd better clean those before you go talk to him. He'll notice that right away."

"Fair enough. Neji, do you think he'll buy it?"

Neji surveyed her, nodding slightly. "Well considering that you are in fact, a medic, he won't have any choice but to accept it."

She let out her breath in a whoosh, trying to calm her mind and recall the exact details of the brain surgery should she need to provide an account of what she'd been doing. She was snapped out of her reverie by Temari's arrival.

The kunoichi put a stern hand up to interrupt their greetings.

"Not that I'm unhappy to see you guys, but you have to get out of here. There are Konoha shinobi everywhere in this place. It's all I can do to keep Naruto hidden while Granny Chiyo works on keeping his chakra up. Come with me."

She turned quickly and led them back to the tunnels. They moved at a fast enough pace for Sakura to start sweating. Twisting through what felt like miles of hallways and staircases, they finally came to a fork in the passage.

"Temari, thanks. I know that you're risking a lot to help us." Sakura rearranged her features into what she hoped was a reassuring smile, gripping Temari's hands between her own.

Temari's expression softened, she nodded back. "Shikamaru told me what's happening in Konoha. I'm sorry about Sasuke. We weren't friends, but he was okay."

She directed her last statement at Itachi, who looked taken aback for a split second before he nodded tightly.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we're on a tight schedule here." Neji pointed to the left fork. "I can sense Gaara's chakra from down there, that's where we're headed?"

Temari nodded, "Yeah, go down there. I have to get back to the meeting. Gaara was trying to talk Fugaku into meeting with Sakura alone when I left."

Sakura's stomach plummeted into her knees and both Itachi and Neji crossed their arms at the same time.

"That's not an option." Itachi was completely tensed and Sakura finally clued in.  _He's scared of what his father will do. What I say to Fugaku will determine what happens to him._

"It's the only option." She couldn't believe the words that were coming out of her mouth. "I have to convince him of the truth. Sasuke didn't say anything to me about you the night that he died. That's all that I have to tell Fugaku."

Itachi was about to retort when Gaara appeared out of the shadows. "It's time; I can't stall him any longer. Neji, Temari will show you where Naruto is, and then she'll return to the council room to wait for Fugaku's departure."

Sakura moved towards Gaara as he began to stride towards the right fork. They were barely two steps into the unfamiliar tunnel when Sakura heard quick footsteps behind her.

"Sakura, wait!" Itachi caught up to them with little effort and gently snagged her arm. Gaara turned around in surprise, his eyebrow raised. Sakura waved her hand at him and motioned for him to keep walking. "I'll catch up in a minute."

Turning to face Itachi, she glowered at him. "Can you let me go?"

"You can't go in there alone." His eyes searched her face, and she realized that she had never seen him look anxious before. She felt a twinge of annoyance and decided that she needed him to back off. She wasn't going to be able to help him if he was in her head the whole time.

"That's what he wants! If you're caught anywhere near here we're all screwed! How do you think it's going to look for Tsunade when you're not where you're supposed to be?"

"I'll be fine, I won't get caught-"

"How many ANBU officers with long black hair and a shiny sharingan are there? Even with your mask you stick out like a sore thumb."

"You are acting like a child, you don't know what he's like, the things that he's done-"

"That doesn't matter right now! All that I have to do is convince him that Sasuke didn't mention you when he was bleeding out, which is true by the way!" The argument was becoming a lot more serious than she had intended, but she plowed onwards.

"I'm not stupid; I've been playing this game for seven years!"

"I didn't say that you were! He's been playing it for longer, that's my point."

He was obviously frustrated with her, and his tone was becoming colder by the second. "He's a manipulator; he'll find some way to make you say things that you shouldn't."

"He wouldn't dare do anything obvious, he's not in Konoha!"

"He doesn't need to. Sakura, you don't know him like I do-"

" I'm already scared that I'm going to mess up and get Tsunade killed, and you telling me what a horrible person he is won't help me calm down-"

"What exactly are you going to tell him? That you think I'm a murdering psychopath?" Itachi's voice never rose above a whisper, but it lacked no ferocity. "He's going to know that you're lying to him."

Suddenly her frustration overcame her ability to keep her cool and she yanked her arm out of his grasp. "He already thinks that I'm some sort of insipid girl who had a crush on Sasuke as a child. If I cry a little and wail about how much I loved him then he's going to get frustrated."

"You don't know that, it might not work!"

"Oh yes I do. If there's one thing that all Uchiha seem to hate, it's a blubbering idiot. Sasuke made that clear."

He just stared at her, speechless for once. He was feeling several emotions, most of which bordered on annoyance and frustration. She was right, but he wasn't about to admit it.

She saw his expression soften slightly and she sighed. "Just trust me, okay? I can do this."

"Trust isn't the issue here." His expression was still stony, but he didn't say anything more.

"I'll tell you what happens when it's over." With that, Sakura turned on her heel and jogged down the passage to catch up to the Kazekage.

Leaving Itachi far behind, she walked in silence with Gaara for a few moments. She was startled out of her thoughts when he spoke. "Here's the door that will take us into the right building. Keep close to me, the Konoha shinobi are wandering around everywhere."

"Right." She followed him out into the bright hallway and down a stairwell.

"Sakura, I know that Fugaku wants to talk to you alone-" Gaara spoke quietly, cutting off when they passed guards, "-but I don't know if that's a good idea."

"He can't touch me while I'm here. He's calling Tsunade's bluff, that's it. If you stick to the story that she gave you and I act like a devastated idiot we can win this fight." She spoke in a rush, trying not to let her nerves get the best of her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. If I don't convince him, we've got real issues to deal with. Can you make sure that Itachi stays far away from here?"

"Yes, I'll have him taken to my personal tower. No one will find him there, it's heavily guarded."

"You're a lifesaver." She smiled weakly at him, and he laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder as they reached the end of the hallway. "It won't come to that."

They had arrived at their destination far too quickly for Sakura's comfort. Gaara gestured at the ornate stone door. "I'll be right outside if you need me."

Sakura pushed the door open before she lost her nerve. She stepped into the amphitheater and caught sight of the man who had to be Fugaku Uchiha.

* * *

He turned slowly to face her and she was struck with how pitch black his eyes were.

"Hello, Sakura. I've wanted to meet you for so long." His voice sent chills down her spine; it was deep and made every hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"Uchiha-san, thank you for meeting me here." Her voice sounded hollow, and she hoped that he couldn't sense her fear.

"It wasn't an inconvenience. Please, sit." Fugaku gestured to the seat next to him. She settled into it, willing her muscles to relax.  _He's going to know that you're hiding something, relax._

"I'm sure you're wondering why I came all the way here to speak with you." His tone was friendly, reassuring even. She didn't like it one bit.

Shrugging, Sakura decided that it was best to feign ignorance. "Yeah, well, I've been out of the loop for a little bit."

"I'm sure. How long have you been here, Sakura?"

She brought her eyes up to meet his, daring him to contradict her as she answered. "I've been in Suna for three days, but before that I was travelling with Lady Chiyo into the surrounding areas. Certain herbs are difficult to find this time of year." She figured that if she bored him to tears with unnecessary medical details that he would switch his line of questioning. She was right.

"Ah, of course, you must have been busy. I actually came to Suna with the sole purpose of speaking to you. I'm afraid that I have some rather uncomfortable questions to ask." He crossed his arms and sighed, she couldn't help marveling at his acting skills. If she didn't know better, she would have thought that he was a kind man.

"Uncomfortable? In what way?"

"Well, as I'm sure you can't forget, my son Sasuke passed away a few months ago."

"Five and a half, actually. One hundred and seventy-two days. " Her response seemed to surprise him, but he took it in stride and continued to speak.

"Yes, well. I need your help to catch the person who killed him. I hate to ask, but you're the last person to speak to him before he passed." He passed a hand over his eyes, but she knew that he was watching her like a hawk.

"What do you want to know?" She spoke bluntly, clasping her hands in her lap.

He furrowed his brow and leaned towards her. It took everything she had not to recoil from him. "Did he say anything to you? A name?"

She felt a flash of anger; he was fishing for Itachi's name. She would bet money on whether or not he was about to suggest Itachi to her as a suspect if she told him that Sasuke had mumbled due to blood loss. "He told me not to stare at him, he was annoyed."

"Why was he annoyed?" Fugaku was on the edge of his seat, he seemed to be waiting for something. She could feel herself getting emotional, not from grief, but from anger. She closed her eyes briefly and finally allowed her tears to swell to the surface.

"He didn't want me to stare at him. I was so emotional when I saw that it was him on the gurney that he was probably trying to snap me out of it. But I couldn't, and he died because of me."

She allowed a single tear to slip down her cheek. If there was ever a moment to be dramatic, she was going to sell it with everything that she had.

"Sakura, it isn't your fault. Sasuke's murderer injured him so badly that there was nothing that you could do." Fugaku adopted a syrupy-sweet tone, trying to reassure her. She could hear a subtle undertone of triumph underneath his words, and she knew then that she had to keep going with the ruse. She sniffed and scrubbed at her eyes. "He passed out then, and I couldn't stop his bleeding. He was so helpless, and I couldn't do my job properly and save him! He was right all along, I am weak-" She broke off into soft sobs.

Inwardly, she was irritated by her ability to cry at will, but there was just enough of the truth mixed into her statement that the tears were mostly real. Peering through her lashes, she saw Fugaku's neutral expression change to one of annoyance for a split second. "It wasn't your fault; in fact, I don't think that he thought you were weak."

Surprised, she hiccupped and stopped crying for a moment. "What?"

Fugaku spread his palms, and she realised what he was about to say. "I think that he loved you, with everything that he had."

She didn't look at him, just continued to wipe tears off of her face. "I don't think so, he couldn't stand me."

"No, Sakura. It's true! He talked about you all the time, after you did so well in the chuunin exams. I certainly paid attention."

She let the tears flow again, but this time they were real. Sakura couldn't believe the utter gall of this man, to waltz into Suna and try to manipulate her into thinking that Sasuke gave a damn about her. "I barely spoke to him, I don't understand. I liked him so much and he just pushed me away."

_I shouldn't have admitted that._

"He told me about how you were studying under the Hokage, which certainly takes guts." Sakura hated to admit it, but there was something about him that made him seem trustworthy.  _Silver-tongued is right; maybe I should have listened to Itachi_.  _He hasn't told me anything that can't be read in my shinobi citizen file._

"You come from a good family, and I could honestly see you being a part of the Uchiha clan someday. But now that Sasuke's dead, so is that future."

She was so shocked that she couldn't think of anything to say. More tears welled up behind her eyes and spilled out onto her cheeks.

"Anyway," he continued, turning to face her directly. "I do have one question that I need answered; I know that it's a difficult thing to talk about."

She didn't say anything, just waited for him to speak.  _This is it. Come on, Sakura. You have to convince him._ Sakura held her breath, every heartbeat echoing in her ears.

"So you're sure that Sasuke didn't say anything important to you before he died?"

"No, nothing." She shook her head, confident that he believed her. "He couldn't speak much, he'd already lost a lot of blood."

"Ah, naturally. Well you see, I have my suspicions about who killed him. My other son Itachi is a dangerous man. Sasuke came to me the night before he died and expressed some concern that he was going to be targeted."

"Why would he be targeted?" Sakura felt the question leave her lips before she could stop it.

"Itachi could easily use him to get back at me for disowning him, I imagine. Sasuke was always frightened that Itachi would come and finish what he started."

Sakura was on the edge of her seat, she could feel her brow furrowing. "I don't know what you're talking about, what did Itachi do?"

"Oh you didn't know? He murdered his own mother."


	14. Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura escapes from her meeting with Fugaku relatively unharmed, but she has questions for Itachi. They bond over their shared memories of Sasuke as she lets him help with her injuries.

Sakura stared at him, a million thoughts whirling around in her head. The only emotion that she allowed to register on her face was shock. "How could someone do that?"

Fugaku's voice was so oily that she wanted to puke as he continued to speak. "Itachi knew that my wife was the most precious person in the world to both myself and my son. So he took it upon himself to make me suffer after he chose to leave my clan."

_You turned his family against him after he saved so many lives. You- you bastard!_

"Only a monster would do something like that." Sakura whispered, letting more tears stream down her cheeks and blur her vision.

Fugaku's expression was triumphant; he thought that he'd managed to fool her.

He then made the very stupid mistake of thinking that she was at her most vulnerable.

"I need to know if you know anything about where I can find Itachi. Sasuke won't be able to rest in peace until I avenge him."

She finally looked up, meeting his pitch-black eyes. Opening her mouth to speak, she made a split-second decision.  _Uchihas hate a blubbering idiot, and that's exactly what he's going to get._

She began to cry hysterically, flailing her hands and shrieking, "Oh my god! You think Itachi's going to try and kill me too! I'm no one, he's got no reason to try and kill me, and you  _have_ to protect me Uchiha-san! I'm just a medic, I barely know how to fight, my genjutsu's okay but my ninjutsu and taijutsu techniques are so weak that a ten-year old could overpower me! I don't know how you do it, he's just so scary, oh my god,  _he's gonna try and kill me_ -"

Thoroughly frustrated, Fugaku finally cut her off. "No, Sakura. That won't be necessary, if you didn't hear anything important from Sasuke then there's no reason for you to be a target."

"You think so?! How do you know?! I won't be able to sleep at night knowing that there's an ANBU assassin after me, and  _holy shit_  I'm so far away from Tsunade-sama that she can't protect me either.  _I'm going to die, I don't want to die_ -"

It took everything that she had not to laugh when his expression soured and he stood up abruptly. "I will fetch the Kazekage, thank you for your time, Sakura. My investigation can continue in Konoha."

She stopped crying immediately and cheerfully waved at him as he strode out of the amphitheatre. "Okay, nice to meet you Uchiha-san!"

He didn't look at her as he left the room. She was glad; it would have ruined everything if he could have seen the look of triumph in her eyes. She let the tears dry up immediately.

Her expression became stony as soon as the door slammed behind him. She jumped up and began to pace, fuming.  _How dare he come here and try to tell me that Sasuke was in love with me?! Who the hell does he think he is?! I'm not some idiot that he can manipulate into spilling her guts. How Tsunade-sama doesn't punch his stupid smug face in is beyond me-_

Her anger reached its boiling point and she drove her chakra-charged fist into the middle of the floor. Systematically, she lay waste to the council chamber, so absorbed in her rage that she didn't notice that Gaara was watching her from the doorway with some confusion.

She wasn't one to take her anger out on inanimate objects, but in this case it was the only thing stopping her from assaulting Fugaku.

Catching sight of Gaara out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly realized what she was doing.

"Oh. Shit, Gaara. I'm so sorry." Sakura looked helplessly around her, noticing that she was now standing in a room full of rubble.

His face opened up with a rare grin and she could see his shoulders shaking with laughter. "I always hated this room anyways. You did me a favor."

"I can pay for repairs." She tried to smile at him, but couldn't bring herself to do anything but stare at the destruction that she'd created.

"No need. But you do need to go and get your hands healed up." He'd walked over to stand beside her, taking her arm gently to lead her out of the once-ornate chamber. "I'll tell Itachi to meet you in the medical bay. I hear he's pacing around my tower like a caged animal."

She didn't say anything, just let him guide her. She finally felt herself crying for real, her anger and frustration spent. Gaara didn't say anything as they walked, but she was thankful for that. She had her hands clenched, and it was then that she saw that her knuckles were split and bruised. She stared at them numbly, she'd never hurt herself like that before.

_You've never been in a situation like this before._

An hour later she was sitting under a fluorescent light in the deserted medical bay. She was glad for the silence; it allowed her to cry in peace. The pain of Sasuke's death was fresh again, but this time she felt as if she could finally mourn. She'd managed to foil Fugaku's plans to go after Itachi for the time being, that had to be enough for now.

She focused her chakra into her right hand and set about healing the major damage to the knuckles on her left hand. Slowly, the skin knit back together and she breathed a tiny sigh of relief as the swelling receded. Turning her attention to her right hand, she repeated the process, hissing in pain as her nerves fired. She was still exhausted from using too much chakra over the last week; it took all of her control to finish healing her hands.

Sakura methodically twined bandages around her knuckles and didn't even twitch when she heard someone quietly enter the room.

She knew that it was Itachi.

"What happened?" He was at her side in a flash, inspecting her hands. She was too exhausted to put up a fight. She shrugged, "I broke Gaara's council room."

"You broke the room." His statement wasn't a question, and she looked up to see him watching her. She nodded and mimed punching the ground. "After talking to your father I lost it."

"Did he hurt you?" She could hear the urgency in his question, even without looking at him.

"No. Not physically. He did try to manipulate me though."

"What did he say?"

She was about to respond when he frowned and touched her shoulder. She hadn't noticed that she had a long, jagged cut. "You're bleeding."

"Oh, that must have happened when I started breaking the walls."

"Just tell me what happened. I'll stitch it up." He was already rummaging through the cabinets and pulling out medical kits. She was taken aback when he started laying out medical instruments with a practiced hand. "Relax, I've done this before."

She didn't say anything, just watched as he wiped the blood and dirt away from her cut. He looked up at her, a question plain on his face. She nodded for him to go ahead.  _I trust you._

She sucked in a sharp breath as Itachi started cleaning the cut with alcohol. "Ow. Well first he wanted to know if Sasuke told me a name."

"My name, you mean." Itachi's brows furrowed in concentration as he threaded the needle, his hands moving deftly and confidently through the motions.

"Yeah. So I told him the truth." She squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep, shuddering breath as he started stitching.

"Which is what exactly?" His voice was steady, and she snuck a glance at him. He was concentrating hard on her stitches.  _Oh, he doesn't know._

"He told me to stop staring because it was annoying." She said flatly, looking down at her hands. "He lost consciousness after that, he didn't say anything else."

"I see. What did Fugaku say after that?" She could see that his shoulders had relaxed slightly, he was nervous that Sasuke had said something after all.

"Well, he tried to convince me that Sasuke loved me. Enough to marry me- ow!"

He'd slipped with the needle, and he just stared at her.

"That hurt. I can finish up-"

"I didn't mean to slip. That was the last thing that I expected you to say."

She laughed ruefully, shaking her head. "It might have worked on me if I was younger. He must have heard that I liked Sasuke somehow."

"It's not a secret." He smirked, ignoring the dirty look that she threw at him. "I think he pretty much had the girls in your academy class hooked."

"Oh please, I hear that you were the same in your year. You're kind of famous."

He chuckled, and she found herself relaxing at the warm sound. "People hear about my reputation and leave me alone. It works out."

She grimaced when he resumed his stitching. "Yeah, well you're not as mysterious as they think you are."

"You're not as annoying as they say you are either." She let out an indignant gasp, softening immediately when she realized that he was trying not to smile.

"Ugh, just keep sewing. I'd better not have a scar!"

"It might make you look tougher." He was serious again, thinking. "So what did you say to that?"

"What else? I told him that Sasuke couldn't stand me. It was okay when we were teammates, but after that he didn't even say a word to me in the street."

"I wouldn't agree with that. Sasuke talked about you a lot when he was younger. You were always beating him on tests."

"I beat everyone on tests. But that definitely doesn't mean that he was in love with me. Your father should have gone with a less obvious lie. But he got under my skin."

"I told you, he's good at what he does." Itachi was quiet for a moment, gently tightening the stitches that he'd already finished. "He's managed to goad me into saying something stupid enough times."

"I can't imagine you losing your temper." She said thoughtfully, trying to think of a time when he had actually lost his cool.

"It happens. So did he end the questions there?" Itachi determinedly changed the subject, and she let him. She was dreading the moment when she would tell him the next part.

"He said something really horrible." She avoided his gaze, and he noticed then just how much tension was in her shoulders. The eyes that she no longer thought of as Sasuke's narrowed at her, Itachi didn't like how cagey Sakura was being all of a sudden.

"Well I can't agree with you if you won't tell me what it is."

"He told me that you murdered your mother." She whispered, feeling tears well up in her eyes again. "I couldn't believe that he would say something like that-"

"Sakura, he's not exactly wrong." He'd stopped stitching, and his arms were crossed. He wouldn't look at her.

Shocked, she stared at him.  _What? What's he talking about? Itachi wouldn't do something like that, what's he saying?_

"Itachi..?" She hated that her voice trembled, and she unconsciously leaned away from him.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I didn't kill her. But it's because of me that she died." His voice was void of any emotion; he sounded hopeless.

"Tell me what happened." Her voice sounded hollow, she could feel every heartbeat thundering through her body, and her mouth was dry. He thought for a moment before responding, resuming his stitching as if it could steady him. She hissed in pain, but nodded for him to keep going when he looked up in concern.

"When my father told the clan that I'd betrayed them, I had to strike out on my own. I was only thirteen, but as an ANBU captain I had an apartment. My mother would come to visit me whenever she could. I thought that my father wouldn't find out."

His gaze was far away, but his hands were steady. Sakura didn't say anything, just waited for him to continue. He took a deep, calming breath, "I was so naïve. Fugaku doesn't miss anything. He let it happen for a few years, eventually he threatened her. She tried to contact me to warn me, but I was out of the village on a mission. Before I could do anything, he poisoned her and made sure that Sasuke saw her die."

Sakura finally found her voice. "But why? So that he could blame you for her death?"

"Now you know why Sasuke hated me so much. He thought that I was the one who killed her."

"How could he think that of you?" Sakura felt another tear slip down her cheek and she wiped it away impatiently. Itachi tied off the stitches and reached for a bandage before responding.

"The last thing she said before she died was my name. Fugaku couldn't have planned it better."

"But why didn't Sasuke question him?"

"Well, Fugaku started keeping him away from me when Sasuke was little. Over the years it got more intense, until I didn't speak him for five years. Not until a few months ago. So I guess you could say that Sasuke didn't know me at all."

She hadn't known that Sasuke had spoken to Itachi that night, but she was afraid to ask.

"It's not your fault." She whispered, suddenly feeling very calm. "Tsunade-sama wouldn't have reinstated you and put you on this team if she thought that you were a bad person."

"Why would she do that, do you think?" He raised his eyebrows, smoothing down the tape that sealed the bandages he'd wound around her shoulder.

"Because she knew that you didn't choose this." Sakura decided to be direct; she was tired of dancing around the elephant in the room. "Itachi, it isn't your fault that Sasuke ended up the person he was."

They stared at each other for a moment, neither one saying anything until Itachi finally answered. "Maybe not, but I'm no saint."

She waited for him to continue, her heart was in her throat and she couldn't think of anything to say.

"You could have let Uzumaki take a shot at me, but you didn't." His voice was steady, but there was something about the way that he spoke that made her heart skip a beat.

Once again, his statement wasn't a question. She paused, and then decided to just be honest with him. "You're right. I couldn't stand you, but I didn't want you to get hurt either."

"Why?"

Embarrassed, she bit her lip. "That was before-"

"Just tell me the truth." He was looking at her very directly, and that was why she was so nervous about admitting why she'd tried to warn Naruto off him.

"Your eyes, Itachi. As long as you're alive, a little piece of Sasuke is too." She said in a rush, looking down at her hands. The silence that filled the room was deafening. She didn't see that Itachi started to reach out to her, then quickly drew his hand back.

"It's okay. He is." Itachi said fiercely, torn between telling her the truth and keeping his secret.  _If only you knew_.

"Itachi, what's done is done. You don't have to sugar-coat it. You're not like Sasuke, I know that now."

He laughed quietly, "It's not like I made it easy for you to trust me."

"I think you and Sasuke are more alike than you think." She said quietly, "but it's okay to let people in sometimes. No matter what you've been through. You don't have to be so prickly all the time."

A ghost of a smile was playing around his lips as he spoke. "I like being prickly."

"I'm trying to be supportive, and then you go and ruin it!" She couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled out of her, and he cracked a smile as she began to giggle helplessly. "This is such a mess."

He started to clean up the blood-soaked gauze, turning away from her to throw it into the garbage. "So how did you get out of there?"

She shook her head, smiling widely. "My plan worked. I started freaking out and crying hysterically. He was out of there like he'd been shot out of a cannon."

He turned around to look at her, shaking his head in disbelief. "I thought that wouldn't work. I'm glad it did, you had a backup plan I assume."

"No, not really." She couldn't miss the irritated look that he threw her way. "What? I know what pisses you off."

He didn't answer, just determinedly continued to clean the medical tools. After a long moment, he sighed and leaned against the metal sink. "So what now? We can't stay here."

"If I leave Suna, Fugaku'll think that something's up."

"Yeah, but he's going to lose interest in you if he doesn't think that you're useful to him."

"We should talk to Gaara. I still don't know if he can help Naruto in the long term. It might be better to get him back to Konoha where Tsunade-sama can take a look at him."

"And risk him investigating why Naruto's in a coma? He'll suck up a lot of really obvious resources."

"Okay, good point." She crossed her arms, wincing as she pulled her stitches slightly. "So what do you want to do?"

"We get out of here and we find Raiton. If I can't do anything above the board then I still want to take a shot at him."

"Fine. Let's say that we find him. What's going to happen when your father puts it together?"

"I've got most of it figured out, but please, enlighten me." He gestured for her to continue, his expression neutral.

"First, Naruto is missing, that's super high profile. Secondly, I'm out of the village. Thirdly, you are nowhere to be found. If your father's favorite drug dealer turns up dead from a katana wound he's going to know that it's you."

He rolled his eyes, leaning forwards on the table. "I'll use something else then."

"I have a better idea." She knew that it might be a little bit insane, but her options were limited. "We cover our asses and really mess things up for Fugaku at the same time."

"Okay, then stop playing games. Just tell me."

"You use your mangekyou to drive Raiton crazy." She spoke without embellishment, and she felt a flash of triumph as he smirked.

"Not bad. That could work. Torture isn't usually my style though; I'm going to need a good reason."

"How much time will Fugaku spend chasing after his black-market dealer? If he's erratic and irrational, he's still going to be on the move. They won't be able to track him reliably or get anything done if he's out of commission."

He shook his head, and she could see the grudging respect written plainly on his face. "I guess you learned a few things from the Hokage."

"Actually, I channeled your dad on that one. It's what would frustrate me the most. But I want to talk it over with Shikamaru first."

"Why?"

"He's the best strategist I've ever met. Ever played the guy at chess? I've won twice in seven years." She raised her eyebrows. "Besides, he's met your father. He'll know the best way to piss him off."

Itachi sighed, running a hand over his eyes. "You're on to something. You've got a knack for annoying my family members, Haruno."

She scowled at him, striding towards the door. "You make it too easy. I'm going to check on Naruto. I don't know if I'll need it, but your chakra could come in handy."

She hated herself for uttering the last statement, but she was tired of pretending that she was fine. Her chakra had been so depleted for so long that she was only able to function through sheer force of will. Not that she would ever admit it, but her body was craving the rush that came with the exchange. She turned and started walking away, a small part of her hoping that he wouldn't follow.

But they both knew that he would.

He watched her disappear through the doorway. Breathing an exasperated sigh, Itachi followed her.

Sakura nudged the door to the quarantine room open, holding it open for Itachi. She couldn't help herself; she darted up to the observation window and finally caught sight of her friend. Naruto was bathed in a soft blue glow. Sakura could see that he was suspended in a containment jutsu. She whistled in appreciation, nodding in approval at the complexity of the seal above which Naruto's sleeping form floated.

"I take it that you're glad we took him to Suna." Itachi sounded vaguely amused.

"Oh yeah, this jutsu is incredible. It's generating neutral chakra that's being absorbed into his system." She couldn't take her eyes off of the seal, trying to commit it to memory. "It must have taken ten people to create this."

"But you still don't know how to wake him up." Her bubble of excitement was popped immediately and she frowned at him.

"No, I don't. But I'd rather have him here and safe, it's more important that he's stable right now. I have a few ideas but I need to talk to Lady Chiyo first."

"Right. Is there anything that you can do for him right now?"

"No, I don't think so." She reluctantly moved away from the observation window and sighed. "I need sleep more than anything. I'm sorry that I dragged you over here."

He gestured towards the door, motioning for her to follow him. "It's fine. Come on, I'll show you the way. Gaara's set up rooms in his tower for us."

She nodded, following him out into the hallway. "How did you two meet anyways?"

He smirked, glancing back over his shoulder at her. "I was on a lot of ANBU escort missions for meetings between Kages. We got talking eventually; guess we realized that we've got a lot in common."

"Yeah." She didn't say anything more; for once she didn't want to push Itachi's buttons.

"You can say it." He was still smirking, glancing back at her again. "Tragic pasts, family drama, makes for some good company."

She laughed, "Well at least something good is coming out of it."

"Yeah it is." He replied, gesturing that she should turn left. She almost groaned out loud when she saw how many stairs they had to take to get down to street level. She was so tired, her body was protesting and her shoulder was aching.

Noting with some satisfaction that her chakra levels were slowly rising, she determinedly continued on to the tower.

_They were walking side by side, and she was aware of how close he was. They weren't touching, but it felt almost like there was lightening crackling in the space between them. The silence was comfortable for once, neither one of them was looking for a fight or a reason to be at odds. Glancing over at him through her lashes, Sakura suddenly realized that he was doing the same thing. She turned red and pointedly fixed her gaze on the tower in front of them._

_Itachi led the way up into the tower, vaulting over balconies and giving her a hand up the one time that she slipped when her bandaged shoulder gave her some pain. "Oof! Itachi, why aren't we using the front door? That's what it's for!"_

_He smirked, holding out a hand to haul her over the last balcony. "I didn't want to. The view is better from up here anyways. Look."_

_She finally turned around and her breath caught in her throat. The moon was full, sending clear light over the spires of Suna. There was a slight breeze that rustled through the night air, sending a chill up her spine. It's beautiful._

_She finally relaxed. Taking a deep breath, she took in the beauty of the night. Her muscles were starting to stiffen up, she realized, and all that she wanted to do was crawl into bed. Sakura wanted to forget the whole day and just hide for a while._

_"Is this my room?" She pointed to the door leading off the balcony._

_"Yeah, mine's the one below."_

_Sakura opened the door to the room, leaving it open behind her. She wasn't even surprised when Itachi followed her inside._

_"Hang on a second." He strode past her to survey the room, checking in the bathroom and the closet. She couldn't help it, she laughed. His expression darkened, and he crossed his arms. "What?"_

_"Do you want to check under the bed for monsters while you're in there?" She was grinning, shaking her head at how weird he could be sometimes._

_He stiffened, clearly offended. "Look, my father's still got shinobi in the city. It's not like him to leave a target alone so quickly."_

_"Itachi, we're in the Kazekage's tower. He wouldn't dare send someone in here."_

_"Well now we know that. How's your chakra?" He asked abruptly, shutting down the argument._

_"Low. But you already knew that." She didn't bother to hide her chakra levels; she knew that he could tell by looking at her how exhausted she was._

_"Come here then." He was already untying his headband, ruffling the bangs that fell into his eyes. He was looking at her expectantly, and she didn't even fight it as she took a hesitant step towards him. He looked torn, his expression a mixture between confusion and something else that she couldn't name, something intense._

_He wasn't sure how to feel, but he was relieved when she took a step towards him. Their eyes met, and Sakura suddenly found it hard to breathe. She hurriedly looked away. "You know, now that we're here you don't have to give me any more chakra."_

_"I know."_

_"I can recover if I don't have to give Naruto all of my chakra."_

_"Yes, I know."_

_"So, yeah, I-"_

_She cut off as he stepped in front of her. She gestured helplessly, finally raising her head to meet his eyes. They stood there quietly for a moment, and then Itachi took the final half step towards her and met her forehead with his own. She tensed, knowing what was about to happen. She could feel him trembling slightly as the familiar rush of chakra took over her senses and made her dizzy._

_It was different this time; she wasn't just taking his chakra. It was almost as if he was taking some of hers too. The euphoria was stronger, and she didn't know how to process it. Hurriedly, she broke off the connection, afraid of what would happen if she lost herself in the feeling of chakra flowing between them._

_Itachi was so taken off guard when Sakura separated the pressure points that he stumbled forward a step. He'd been caught up in the electric feeling of the exchange, completely oblivious to anything else. He couldn't explain what was different about this time, just that he thought that he didn't want it to be over. She caught his arm, so shaken from the exchange that she lost her balance slightly._

_It was barely a kiss. A brush of lips so soft that she must have imagined it._


	15. Introspection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura and Lady Chiyo work on repairing Naruto's body enough to wake him. Sakura finally gets a chance to unwind and talk to Temari about the events of the past few days. Itachi overhears something that makes him fear for Sakura's safety.

Sakura woke up with a start. She was breathing hard, discombobulated by her surroundings. Thinking furiously, she recalled her dream. She blushed and shoved her face back into the too-soft pillow.

_Relax, girl. You didn't kiss him, you wouldn't kiss him_!

She could remember the last night's events all too clearly. Fugaku's questions, Itachi telling her about his mother, seeing Naruto... and then going to bed.

She sighed with relief; her dream had been so vivid that she'd almost tricked herself into believing that it had actually happened. Itachi hadn't even been in her room, but she wouldn't put it past him to lurk outside on the roof.

She winced as she sat up, her stitches tugging painfully. Irritated by them, she focused her chakra on that spot and watched as the skin quickly rejoined and the suture thread fell off. All that was left was a thin white scar. Standing up, she opened the curtains of her room and took in the morning.

The city was alive, brimming with the sounds of everyday life. She'd missed the bustle and chaos of Suna, it reminded her of home. Her gaze wandered over to the medical tower and she decided that it was time to do something about Naruto's coma.  _I need something to keep me busy._

She refused to admit that she was completely thrown by her dream. Sakura was frustrated; she didn't know why she was feeling so bothered by something that had never actually happened. She took a deep breath and forced herself to think about other things. There was no time for feelings; she knew that too much was at stake.  _I can't afford to be distracted; Konoha could be on the line._

She dressed quickly and was about to leave when she noticed that a note had been shoved underneath the door. Nervously, she unfolded it.

Her face opened into a wide smile as she saw the signature.

_Lady Chiyo, finally._

* * *

_Sakura-chan,_

_Get your scrawny little butt over to the medical pavilion. I want to show you what I found in Naruto's system. If your slug queen taught you anything, it could be important for curing him._

_Don't be late. I'm expecting you at noon._

_Granny._

* * *

Winding her way through the busy streets of Suna was oddly calming, she could focus on the normalcy of walking to work. Sakura felt like she could breathe again, a hospital was where she belonged. She was glad to be heading over early; the sun was barely above the rooftops.

She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched, and she didn't know whether to think that it might be Itachi or one of Fugaku's men. She wouldn't put it past either of them.

_A life of political intrigue is not for me. No matter what Tsunade-sama says about it._

Spotting a familiar face in the crowd, she made her way over to where Temari was basking in the sun drinking tea.

"Temari, hey!"

Glancing over, Temari raised a hand in greeting, gesturing for Sakura to join her. "Hey, where are you going in such a rush?"

"I'm meeting Lady Chiyo; she found something that could help Naruto." Sakura pulled the note out of her pocket, handing it to Temari.

She read it quickly, and then shrugged, taking a bite of her breakfast.

"That's good. Do you have time for some tea? I feel like we didn't get a chance to talk yesterday."

"I should get to Naruto, but how about later? I might need a drink."

She rolled her eyes when Temari stuck out her bottom lip and sniffed.

"You never have time for me when you're here, how sad. How about seven? Come by my place, I'll have lots of wine and food."

Sakura grinned, already looking forward to it. "Perfect, I'll see you then. Oh, by the way, do you recognize the guy who's following me?"

Temari's eyebrows shot upwards, and she discretely surveyed the crowd. She let out a tsk of annoyance. "Oh yeah, that's an Uchiha guy. He didn't even bother to take off his Konoha headband, amateur."

Sakura groaned, resisting the urge to look behind her. "It doesn't really surprise me, just wanted to make sure that I wasn't imagining it. I'm actually doing the thing that I'm supposed to be here for, so he's going to get super bored."

"Have a little fun with it. I'll let Gaara know, he's not going to be happy if Konoha's police force is sniffing around."

"Gaara's not the one they need to be worried about." She purposely avoided saying Itachi's name, glad when Temari smirked and took another swig of tea.

"Okay, well go on and lead this guy on a wild goose chase. I'll see you later."

Acting completely oblivious, Sakura waved and took off towards the tower. She took the long way around, dashing over rooftops and darting down side alleys. Satisfied that she'd managed to confuse and mislead the tail, she nonchalantly strolled into the tower using the front door.

Dashing up the stairs until she got to the quarantine area, she was waved through the security team checkpoint and continued onto the room where Naruto was suspended.  _Good, if this Uchiha lackey wants to know what I'm up to, he'll have to go through them._

Pushing through the double doors, she was surprised to see Lady Chiyo already planted in front of her, her hands on her hips. "Well you sure took your time getting here! You're always late."

Sakura laughed, running a hand through her hair. She'd missed the crotchety old lady. "I'm two hours early, nice try."

Lady Chiyo's wrinkled face broke into a wide grin and she grabbed Sakura's arm in a bone-crushing grip. "You're still so bony, when are you going to fill out?"

"Ow, I'm not that bony! Granny, you're squishing me!" She finally managed to disentangle herself, laughing. "What did you find?"

"Something that may concern you. Come with me."

Sobering immediately, Chiyo gestured for Sakura to follow her into the adjacent room. Sakura glanced over at Naruto, who was breathing gently and evenly. She breathed a tiny sigh of relief, she'd been afraid that he might be getting worse.

Ushering Sakura into the lab, Chiyo pointed to a microscope fitted with several lenses. "I've got chakra-treated lenses in there; you'll be able to see it. The first slide is a sample of his blood, and the second is from his lymph system."

Sakura settled into the chair, pulling her hair back. Peering through the viewfinder, she felt a jolt of fear. Darting a glance up at the old woman, she knew that her face had gone completely white. "The poison is bonding with his blood cells. How?"

"Look at the second sample. It's in his lymph nodes as well."

Sakura did as she was told, her anxiety mounting. "So it's working its way through all of his body."

"The attacks to his system are his body fighting against the alien substance. It's going to render his body an unsuitable environment for the nine-tails. We need him to re-establish his connection to the Kyuubi."

Sakura sat back, thinking hard. "That makes sense. When he got stabbed, the fox's chakra almost took over him. It even created a semi-permeable form."

"We might be able to fix him if we can push enough chakra into his system for the cells to recognize it as beneficial. His body should then turn on the poison and destroy it, like a sickness. It'll take time, but it's possible."

"That was a super weird blade. I've never seen anything like that before. I don't like knowing that weapons like that are out there."

"The blade must have been created out of pure chakra. It would have been designed to disable the chakra channels of whoever was cut with it." Chiyo frowned, her displeasure clear. "It would be devastating to anyone; it's just worse luck that Naruto was hit."

"I don't know if he was targeted specifically, I think those shinobi who attacked us were after us as a group."

"Oh yes, Raiton's that kind of man. A bastard, who hides behind his lackeys, never does anything himself. He must have caught wind that he's being hunted."

"Well it worked, we missed our original rendezvous window." Sakura hurried to follow the old woman as she stomped out of the room. "Wait, you've met him?"

"Met him? I trained him. His real name is Akihiko Nawa. He used to beg me to teach him how to make my poisons and antidotes. He's a weasel of a man; it doesn't surprise me that he's working with the Akatsuki these days."

"And he's also working for Fugaku Uchiha." Sakura added quietly, glancing around at the medical team.

"Another weasel. Those two are very similar. Too ambitious, calculating, with just enough brains to make them dangerous."

Sakura nodded, deep in thought. "So if Naruto's chakra is now out of sync with his body, how do we wake him up? Itachi said that he's not suspended in the mangekyou, and we don't know if he was able to get to Sage Mountain."

"You might need a Yamanaka. I know of a couple decent telepathy jutsu, but my medics aren't specialists. You're better off trying to wake him up the good old fashioned way."

"Which is what? Smelling salts?"

The old lady chuckled, indicating at Naruto with a gnarled hand. "No, a good shake. He's got enough chakra in his system now; you might be able to pull him back."

"Right now?" Sakura was taken aback, unsure if she was up to it. "I don't really know the best way to go about it, is it going to require a lot of chakra? I'm still running low."

Chiyo tsked, indicating that Sakura should sit down on the chair in front of her. "I've got a seal that will accelerate your chakra regeneration. Move your hair."

Sakura obediently sat and almost jumped up in shock as Chiyo quickly signed a jutsu and pressed her hand to the back of Sakura's neck. It felt like cold water had been poured down her spine. Immediately, she felt better, her chakra responding to the jumpstart. "Okay, that's amazing. Can you show me how to do it?"

The old lady cackled, shaking her head. "Figure it out, it took me forty years. But you've been getting chakra from someone else, haven't you? Your  _Strength of a Hundred_  seal is still intact; I know you didn't have enough chakra to heal Naruto. It took eleven of my medics to get him stable."

Sakura flinched, refusing to turn around and look the old woman in the eye. "Itachi Uchiha was giving me some of his."

For once, Chiyo didn't have a retort. She walked in front of Sakura and stood there with her hands on her hips. "You're playing a dangerous game, Sakura. Taking healing chakra is one thing, but getting it from somebody with a kekkei genkai is just damn stupid."

"Nothing happened; my body didn't reject the chakra."

Sakura was on the defensive, choosing not to mention that her body had actually responded so positively to the chakra that she had been concerned.

"That's not what I'm talking about. People like him have genetically different chakra, whether they know it or not. It could affect you adversely. The slug queen left that out of your education, clearly."

"It never came up. I never thought that I'd be in that situation. What could happen?" She was worried, not knowing what to expect.

"Any number of things, none of them particularly good. Your body could shut down, turn on itself. It depends on the kind of kekkei genkai. If something happens to your eyes you should be worried!"

"Oh, well nothing like that has happened."

"Fine. You did something stupid, just don't do it again. I don't want to have to explain to Tsunade why you're all messed up, or worse."

Sakura nodded, feeling embarrassed and annoyed at the same time. She decided to change the subject entirely. "How long do I have to wait until my levels are high enough for me to start working on Naruto?"

"Check them yourself." Striding out of the room, Lady Chiyo flapped a nonchalant hand over her shoulder. "Go try to wake Naruto up; I'm going for a nap."

Sighing in frustration, Sakura sat and meditated for a moment. She was pleasantly surprised to feel that her chakra was almost fully restored.  _That's one hell of a jutsu. If I figure out how to use it then I'll never have to rely on Itachi again._

She stood up and introduced herself to the medics working on Naruto. They seemed to be kind people, and Sakura found that she was immediately relaxing into the hospital environment. It was familiar, comforting.

She washed her hands and tied her hair up. There was something therapeutic about pulling on a doctor's coat as well. She finally felt strong, which settled her and allowed her to focus.

She walked over to the lines of the sealing jutsu and stepped gingerly over the boundaries. Careful not to disturb the designs that were inked into the floor, she stepped up to Naruto and placed her hands on his temples. Gathering chakra into her hands, she extended tentative chakra threads into his system.

She began to strain immediately as her searching was met with resistance. His cells were so soaked with the remnants of the chakra blade that they reacted immediately to her probing. She felt pain in her hands, the cells were attacking her.  _Shit. Okay, maybe I shouldn't push that hard._

Withdrawing from his veins, she focused her attention on his brain.

Trying to breathe in a steady rhythm, she inspected the activity on his mind. It was different from before, she could feel that his brain was active. She breathed a small sigh of relief, she was afraid that being in limbo would have destroyed his mind. She stood in that position for some time, inspecting each section of his brain and testing all of his pathways. Gently, she worked her way into the rest of his systems and inspected his organs.

There didn't seem to be any more damage, the chakra from the Suna medics had almost fully healed all of the internal damage and bleeding. There was still the issue of the disconnect with the nine-tails' seal, but she slowly worked to eliminate the scar tissue and was satisfied that she had started to realign the chakra pathways that connected him to the fox.  _If only there was some way to speak to him, I-_

Her eyes flew open as she realized that his finger was twitching. It wasn't a seizure, that much she did know. "Naruto?"

His whole hand twitched. "Naruto, can you hear me?"

He twitched again. Feeling excited, she peeled open one of his eyes. "Naruto, hey! Wake up!"

Immediately, she was struck with a feeling of hopelessness. His pupils weren't responding to his eyes encountering light. Lighting her hand up with a bright burst of chakra, she waved it in front of his face. There was nothing. She tried again, her stomach sinking as she accepted that he wasn't responding.

"Naruto?" She whispered, watching his hands. There was no more movement.  _Maybe I imagined it; I was engaging his nervous system._

Feeling defeated, she slumped down in a chair in the next room. Holding her aching head in her hands, she spared a glance at the clock on the wall. It was almost six in the evening.  _I've been here for eight hours?_

She almost jumped out of her skin when Lady Chiyo appeared abruptly in the doorway to the lab. "Finally! What did you find?"

Sakura sighed, shaking her head. "Nothing. He responded for a second, but his pupils aren't moving. I must have tapped his nerves when I was finishing up. The internal damage is pretty much healed, I spent some time working on the scar tissue around the seal. I thought he might be waking up, but nothing seems to pull him out."

Chiyo didn't say anything, just watched Naruto thoughtfully. Finally she crossed her arms. "Alright, you need to call Tsunade and get a telepathic shinobi here. You would do well to contact that big slimy frog that Jiraya was always riding around on. It'll have answers."

"Oh, I didn't even think to contact Gamabunta! I'll get a message to Tsunade-sama."

"Good. Go, get some rest. I will watch Naruto for now. You did well. Come back in the morning, I'll run some more tests overnight."

Sakura blushed at the compliment, easing herself to her feet and squeezing Lady Chiyo's hand as she left. The old woman sat down and watched Naruto, deep in thought.

_This is more serious than I thought. This will take time, and I don't know how much of that he has left._

* * *

Opening the door to her rooms, Sakura walked in and sighed. She hadn't been followed back from the medical tower and she was relieved. She stood there for a moment, thinking.

_I don't know how we're going to keep Naruto a secret for much longer. If I'm being followed around, that means that Fugaku hasn't given up on me yet. It'll look bad if I leave, but it'll look even worse if I stay and keep working on Naruto in secret. Eventually Fugaku is going to try and find out what I'm working on, I can't risk him getting his hands on Naruto or using his condition to start a war. Tsunade-sama will know what to do._

Settling onto her knees, she quickly summoned a slug. There was a puff of smoke and Ringo blinked up at her once again.

"Sakura-san! You're back!"

"Hey, Ringo. I hope you weren't busy."

"Nope! Just eating! What do you need?"

"Can you get a message to two people? I need you to tell Tsunade-sama that I need Inoichi Yamanaka to come to Suna right away. I need his help to wake Naruto up."

"Okay! That's easy! Who else?"

"Can you help me get a message to Gamabunta? I don't know if he can help me track down Naruto's consciousness, but it's worth a try."

"That sounds serious." The little slug thought for a moment, and then puffed up. "I can do it! Tsunade-sama has a message back for you. She wants you to find out what's in the fog. Whatever that means."

"Thanks, I know what she's trying to say." Sakura was troubled, she didn't know what she was looking for with Itachi's eyes. But she knew that Tsunade was concerned, and that was enough for her to make up her mind.  _I'll do it._

"Okay! See you soon, Sakura-san!"

Sakura grinned as Ringo disappeared in another puff of smoke. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, she eased off her knees and went to take a shower.

She stood in the hot water for a while, letting the heat soothe her muscles. Her shoulder was still sore, but the scar was already lightening. Looking at where the stitches had been, her mind wandered back to her dream. Frustrated, she snapped her thoughts away from the way that dream Itachi had looked at her and turned the water as cold as it could go.

"Ah, shit that's cold!" Sakura hurriedly turned the water off and scrubbed her face with her hands.  _Stop, it was a dream! Snap out of it!_

Thoroughly annoyed with herself, she toweled off and got dressed. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she almost didn't notice that there was a knock at the door. Crossing over to it, she opened it a crack. She almost wished that she hadn't.

Itachi stood in front of the threshold, looking somewhat bemused. "Am I interrupting something?"

She shook her head furiously, refusing to look at him directly. "Nope, I was just on my way out."

"To see Uzumaki?"

She frowned, finally facing him and pulling the door all the way open. "I was with him all day today."

"Any progress?" He strode past her into the room, oblivious that she was feeling very uncomfortable around him at the moment. She was determinedly not thinking about her dream, her heart beating faster with each passing second.

"A little. We need more time to wake him up though."

"So where are you going?" He was being, as usual, annoyingly direct. She glanced at the clock again, determined not to be late to see Temari.

"I have plans with Temari. Don't wait up."

Hating herself for being so weird, she turned on her heel and left. Itachi stood in the room for several moments, unsure as to whether he should be annoyed or amused. He settled on annoyed. It was strange that he hadn't seen her the whole day, and he had been worried that she would use too much chakra. If they were to continue on to eliminate Raiton, she couldn't be taking any unnecessary risks.

Striding up to his own room gave him just enough time to consider another possibility for her strange behavior.  _I said too much last night_.  _I shouldn't have told her anything about my mother._

* * *

Sakura raised a hand to knock on Temari's apartment door, but it flew open before she made contact.

"Finally! Get in here, the wine is getting warm!"

Sakura allowed herself to be towed into Temari's home, already she felt herself relaxing. It felt good to be doing normal things and not worrying about whether she was going to be blown up or get anyone killed.

"Sit down, here." Temari shoved a full glass of wine into her hand and sat down on the opposite side of her couch. "I made bread, and there's fruit and stuff here."

Sakura had barely sat down before Temari launched into a small rant about her day. She laughed, feeling the knot of anxiety in her stomach loosen. She took a sip of wine and was pleasantly surprised that she liked it. Temari was infamous for her terrible taste in alcohol.

"So are you running over to Konoha within the next couple of days?" Sakura asked her friend, helping herself to a handful of grapes.

"Probably not, Shikamaru's going to head back son." Temari shrugged, resting her head on her hand. "I will need to talk to him about what might happen in Konoha."

"Yeah, no kidding. I need to talk to him too; I want to pick his brain about something."

"Well you can do it after he spars with Kankuro tomorrow in the stadium. You should come with me, take your mind off of this whole Uchiha mess."

Sakura sighed, "Well if I'm going to be stuck on the road and fighting for my life in a few days, I may as well have a little fun before I go."

Temari laughed, raising her glass in a salute. "Good. We'll give them a show."

"Are the tournament fights still a thing?"

"Nah, Gaara hates that shit. It reminds him of the chuunin exams. But he doesn't mind opening up the stadium if we want to spar."

"What did Shikamaru call it last time? He said something to Naruto about it, but I didn't hear the whole thing."

"Oh it's super stupid."

"Well now I want to know! Don't hold out on me."

Temari snorted into her wine. "He called it the thunder dome, apparently when you fight anyone they can hear it all the way up in the mountains."

Sakura grimaced, downing the rest of her drink. "That's the lamest thing I've ever heard."

"I think Naruto came up with it. That sounds like something he'd say."

They stared at each other for a second, and then burst into laughter. Sakura mimicked Naruto's battle stance, pointing at Temari. "Let's see who's gonna be the champion of the thunder dome!"

They dissolved into helpless, tipsy giggles. After they'd recovered, Temari went to fetch the bread. "He's funny, if nothing else."

"I don't break that much stuff right?" Sakura called into the kitchen, "except for the council room yesterday."

She added that last part sheepishly, but Temari just shook her head as she returned to the living room.

"Sakura, the last time you fought Kankuro it took a month to fix the damage to the bedrock. Didn't Gaara tell you that?"

"Nope, he didn't mention a thing."

"That doesn't surprise me; I think he just likes pissing off the council. They think he's too cavalier about the budget."

"Oh, maybe I shouldn't join in then. I'm an insurance nightmare."

"You should, he's been talking about it since you guys got here. He won't admit it, but he really enjoys it when you and Naruto visit."

"He hasn't told me that directly. He and Naruto are as thick as thieves though."

"Well he owes Naruto a lot. I should really thank him for helping Gaara figure life out sometime."

"I think he knows. But you can tell him right after he wakes up."

"How's that going?"

Sakura sighed, "Honestly, it's not going that well. I'm limited in what kind of ninjutsu I can use to get into his mind. I'd need Ino's help to see what's going on with his psyche."

"Oh if she comes here it'll really be a party." Temari said drily, making a face.

"Ino's nowhere near as catty as she used to be. Besides, I've asked for her father to come here instead."

Sakura grinned, fully aware of the way that Temari felt about Ino.  _Jealous of all that time that she spends with Shikamaru, huh?_

"Well the sooner you wake Naruto up, the sooner that you can finish your mission."

"Yeah. I don't know if I can ever go back home though. I guess I'll just have to wait and see how all of this plays out."

"Well, you know that Gaara will encourage you to emigrate. I think Granny Chiyo's ready for someone else to take over the hospital."

"Oh yeah, do you want to be the one to tell Tsunade-sama?" Sakura grabbed another cracker, shaking her head. "I'd rather not."

"Make Gaara do it. Either way, it'll be good for him to have some friendly faces around."

"Gaara'll get bored of Neji and me pretty quickly. Normally he and Naruto would fly at each other, keep each other entertained."

Sakura shook her head, rearranging herself more comfortably on the sofa. "So does he know about you and Shikamaru?"

Temari turned bright red, she wouldn't look at Sakura. "There's nothing going on between us."

"Oh yeah, for sure. So do you look longingly at all of your friends?"

"Maybe I do! Even if I was into him, for the record I'm not,  _but if I were_ , I wouldn't do anything about it." Temari shoved a cracker into her mouth, chewing furiously. "I would never waste my time with a lazy-ass who doesn't have any ambition."

"Oh come on, you like that he's smart. He can keep up with you." Sakura smirked, refilling her glass. "You could do worse."

"Well what's going on with you and Uchiha then?" Temari was on the offensive, and it was Sakura's turn to blush.

"Nothing, I barely know the guy." She said, too quickly.

Temari smirked, "so nothing's happened between you two."

"Nope. Nothing."

"Sakura, chakra exchange isn't "nothing". It's kind of a big deal." Temari was looking at her like she'd gone crazy. "It's really personal; your chakra is basically your soul."

"Who told you?"

"Neji mentioned it."

_I'm going to murder him. That wasn't his secret to tell._

Sakura was feeling defensive, annoyed that she was ashamed. "It was necessary for the mission, there's nothing emotional about it."

"Does Uchiha know that?" Temari had a wicked glint in her eye; she topped up Sakura's glass of wine and raised her eyebrows. "To someone else, it looks like it's kind of intense between you two."

"Seriously. There isn't anything like that going on, I was running super low on chakra after Naruto had all of his complications. I was afraid to release my chakra seal and use my reserves, so Itachi and Neji suggested that we come here. Itachi was just looking out for the mission."

She could see that Temari wasn't convinced. She honestly didn't know if she was making excuses for something that she knew was true. Trying not to seem nervous, she shrugged.

Her friend shook her blond head vigorously, and Sakura groaned inwardly. "There's no way. Uchiha doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would do something like that for just anyone."

"Yeah, well it's been an intense week. Shit happens."

"I've been on some crazy missions, but yours takes the cake. I've still never heard of individual chakra exchange without some kind of jutsu or seal. It's crazy dangerous."

Sakura felt a flash of irritation; she was annoyed that Temari wouldn't drop the subject. "Well was I supposed to let Naruto die?"

"That's not what I'm saying, Sakura. Just consider that maybe Uchiha cares about you as more than a teammate."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Okay, let's say he does. No girl in her right mind is going to be into a guy who's moodier than she is."

"You're blind if you haven't noticed that he's gorgeous. Obviously he's your type."

"I don't have a type!" Sakura frowned over her wine glass, munching furiously on a cracker. "I don't even have a checklist, and just because he's an Uchiha it doesn't make him more attractive to me. I'd think that either way."

"So you do think that he's hot. I knew it, you're into him!" Temari shot to her feet, grinning triumphantly.

Sakura scowled at her. "I didn't say that."

"Oh yes you did!

"I'm not blind; sure, he's hot. But I don't have time to stare at him, and he's the broodiest person that I've ever met."

"So he drives you crazy."

"Insane. I get whiplash from his personality changes."

Temari laughed, looking at Sakura knowingly over her glass. "You probably confuse the shit out of him. It took three years for you to stop surprising me. Look, Shikamaru and I couldn't stand each other at first, and now we're friends." She turned red and looked away.

"It's not the same though; I've been dragged into some kind of political tinderbox. I have to be on guard all the time. There's a connection there, but it's not emotional. It's survival."

Temari shrugged, settling back into a cross-legged position. "We don't get to choose how we feel."

"Well I don't feel anything. But, I dreamed about him last night." Sakura rolled her eyes and drained her glass again, the alcohol was making her loose-lipped. "I wouldn't have chosen that, believe me."

"Well that's just scandalous." Temari's cheeks were flushed, she was getting very tipsy. "A cold shower kind of a dream?"

"No, nothing like that." Sakura was lying, and Temari knew it.

"Girl, no matter what, you're always going to be into an Uchiha. It's fate. You like guys who have something broken with them, and they're cracked. Healing people is what you do."

Sakura groaned, knowing inwardly that there was some truth to Temari's words. She just wasn't sure which part was the most accurate.

Her thoughts wandered to Itachi. Little did she know, he was sitting on the rooftop of the Kazekage's tower, brooding.

What he heard made his blood run cold.


	16. Calculation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itachi and Sakura flee Suna, trying to both outrun their enemies and surprise Raiton. Unbeknownst to them, Fugaku has other plans.

Itachi had thought for a moment that Sakura had returned, and he was steeling himself for the inevitable argument. But he realized immediately that there were two people.

They were searching through Sakura's room.

Peering over the edge of the roof, Itachi was able to better hear them. Careful not to make a sound, he settled in to eavesdrop.

"Shhh! We can't get caught in here, just finish up so we can go!"

There was a small thump and the sound of muffled swearing. Itachi didn't move an inch as one of the men gingerly made his way out onto the balcony.  _He works for my father, what the hell is he doing?_

It was just light enough for Itachi to be able to make out the features of the man. He committed his face to memory, intent on interrogating him the first chance that he got.  _Idiots, you're making so much noise._   _You'll be lucky if Gaara doesn't hear you._

Itachi's head shot up and he glared into the darkness across from him. Realizing immediately that the chakra that he was sensing was Neji's, he gestured with a jerk of his head. Silently, Neji made his way over to where Itachi was perched. He raised his eyebrows in a silent question and nodded when Itachi motioned downwards.  _We've got intruders._

Itachi tensed as he finally caught wind of the conversion between the two men.  _Shit. They're after Sakura._

"Okay, she was at the hospital all day today. She knew that I was tailing her, I don't know how. I couldn't get up to the floor that she's working on."

"It's because you're useless. Uchiha-sama wants us to grab her when she's not expecting it. She's strong as hell, so we have to surprise her."

"What about the Kazekage?"

"Who cares? As long as we're far away from here before they notice that she's gone, we're golden."

"Why does he want her? She's not that important, far as I can tell."

"He thinks that she knows something. He didn't say what, but he had that look in his eye."

"The scary one, huh? I wouldn't want to be Haruno when he gets ahold of her."

"So we gotta hurry up. Go out through the balcony."

Itachi could feel his heart rate speeding up in anger, but he kept his fury in check.  _I can't kill them, then my father will know that Sakura's being protected in Suna. We can't risk tipping him off. She's going to have to disappear._

Sneaking a glance at Neji, the two shinobi silently darted behind a chimney as the two Uchiha henchmen took off from the balcony railing. Watching closely, Itachi let out a disappointed huff when he couldn't tell where they had disappeared to. He was hoping to find out where they were staying.

Neji crossed his arms, his expression dark. "Sakura needs to leave. Fugaku wasn't entirely fooled by her answers."

"I agree." Itachi took a deep breath, trying to think rationally. "We need to figure out a way to get both her and Naruto out of here."

"Naruto can't leave." Neji said, so bluntly that Itachi raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"What's going on?"

"Lady Chiyo told me that his body can't survive without the chakra seal that he's in right now. They're trying to pull him out, but it's going to take time. His body's attacking itself, so it's a matter of life and death."

"Sakura won't leave him behind."

"She will if it's the only way to save his life." Itachi knew that Neji was right; he was hoping that Sakura would see it the same way.

"We need to get her out of here before those guys have a chance to get to her. Where does Temari live?"

"To the south of here, the house is 147 Sunhawk road, it's just off of Thrush Boulevard. You and Sakura have to get out of here, I'm going to Gaara."

"No, don't. If they end up dead it'll be another reason for Fugaku to investigate and find Naruto."

"Okay, well he'll help you two get out of the city undetected. Your plan is still to eliminate Raiton?"

"Yeah. It's crucial that we do that now, my father's getting bolder by the day."

Itachi had spoken to Neji at length about their plans earlier in the day and Neji had agreed to the plan.

"When it's possible, try to get Naruto back to Konoha. The Hokage will probably feel a lot better if he's near her."

"I'll see what I can do. In the meantime, you need to warn Sakura. I'll tell Gaara to meet you near the south wall. The next rendezvous point is in six days. If you hurry, you can make it there in time."

"Thank you. I will see you in an hour at the meeting point. Don't be seen."

Nodding in agreement, Neji watched Itachi launch himself off of the roof and disappear into the night.  _I hope he knows what he's getting himself into._

* * *

Tsunade was pacing. She was barely holding onto her composure, having just received messages from Chiyo, Shikamaru, Gaara, and Sakura.

_This is much worse than I thought. Fugaku managed to find a loophole, he was able to use the investigation into Sasuke's death to leave Konoha without my express permission. I need Sakura and Naruto to be safe._

_From the sounds of Shikamaru's letter, Itachi will protect Sakura with his life. I fear that it may actually come to that. I need to speak to someone who I can trust._

Opening her office door a crack, she called out into the hallway. "Shizune, I need you to find Hatake Kakashi. We need to talk, urgently."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune took off running.

Tsunade was left alone with her thoughts for barely half an hour before Kakashi popped into her office using the window. Normally she would have chastised him, but her mind was consumed with more important things.

"Hokage-sama, you wanted to talk to me? Is it Naruto?" Kakashi was looking at her expectantly, a pleasant expression on his features. She sighed and shook her head.

"I called you here for something very dangerous. Sakura and Itachi are playing the political game for their lives, and Naruto is fighting his way out of a coma."

Surprised, Kakashi raised his eyebrows. Crossing his arms, he waited for her to continue.

"I know that it is asking too much, but I need someone I can trust. I need to know how many of the clans are loyal to Konoha, and to the Hokage. Fugaku is getting bolder, and I don't know how much time we have before he makes a move."

"We know what he's up to, it shouldn't be hard to figure out who's sympathetic." Kakashi said thoughtfully, scratching his head. "I have an idea where to start. Anything I can do to help their mission while I'm at it? Sakura isn't a person who I would be worried about, but I don't know Itachi well enough to guess how he'll react."

"He's rational, able to make the hard decisions. Hyuuga is also an excellent strategist. That's why I paired those four up; two are led by their hearts, two by their heads. Helping me here will make it easier for them."

"Naturally. Frankly, I think the Uchiha clan is largely on their own within Konoha, they're not exactly the friendliest bunch. I may need to look outside of the village, into some Akatsuki territory."

"Do what you need to do. We're running out of time."

"I'll get going. Oh, and Tsunade-sama?"

"Hm?"

"I don't know Itachi very well, but I do know that he'll protect Konoha until his last breath. He and Sakura will be able to complete your mission, count on it."

She watched as his silver hair flashed in the moonlight. He was gone out the window and out of sight so quickly that she hadn't had time to respond.

_That's not what I'm worried about. The cost of completing the mission may be too great._

Whistling for a messenger hawk, she began to write another message to Gaara.

* * *

Sakura yawned hugely as she left Temari's house. The two of them had worked their way through two and a half bottles of wine. She was exhausted, finally feeling the eight hours that she had spent working on Naruto. Walking along the street, she tensed suddenly as she thought she heard soft footsteps behind her. Perking up her ears, she focused on listening for a moment. There was someone following her on the rooftops. She could hear her tail tap down lightly on the street behind her. Breathing shallowly, she continued to walk at a nonchalant pace.

The footsteps quickened, and she let chakra flow into her shoulders and arms. As she felt the chakra signature close in on her, she spun and  _shoved_  him. He barely dodged her attack and brought his arm up against her collarbone. She slipped out of his grasp and reared back her arm to punch him with a chakra-charged fist. He grabbed her small hand in his own and drove her backwards into the side of a building. She struggled for a second, trying to fool her opponent into thinking that he'd pinned her.

She allowed chakra to blossom out of her body, creating a barrier between them as she brought a knee up between his legs, aiming where it would hurt the most.

"Sakura, stop!"

The second that she realized that the man was Itachi, the strength melted out of her limbs and she sagged against the wall. "Itachi, what the hell?!"

"I'm sorry; I was trying to be silent! You're in danger."

"You couldn't call out from an alley or something?!" She was rattled, so she lashed out. "That was so stupid; I'm  _pissed_ at you right now!"

"You can yell at me later. We need to move, now!"

There was something in his tone that made her pause. "What's going on?"

"My father has sent men here to kidnap you. I heard them while they were searching your room."

"What? When?"

"Half an hour ago, you didn't convince Fugaku. Gaara's going to meet us at the south gate. I'll fill you in on the rest later."

She didn't say anything; the intense look on his face convinced her.

They took off, making for the meetup point. Sakura was annoyed; the alcohol in her system was messing with her ability to think clearly. She concentrated hard and fed her chakra throughout her body, it burned away any alcohol that it encountered. Now sober, she raced after Itachi.

She saw Neji before Itachi did. He was holding two packs; hers and Itachi's. Her brow furrowed. "Where's Naruto?"

She shot a panicked glance at Itachi, who shook his head. "He's in no condition to travel."

"Sakura, he's right." Neji gestured behind him and it was then that she saw that Gaara was standing in the shadows, his arms crossed.

"Gaara is going to make sure that he stays safe. Lady Chiyo will continue to look after him. I'll stay for a few days to make sure that he's alright, and then I'll follow you two."

Sakura was feeling panicked; worried that Naruto was getting worse. "I can't go-"

"You have to." Gaara's tone didn't leave any room for discussion. "I will find out what Fugaku's up to. In the meantime, you have to leave. I can't keep both you and Naruto safe."

Torn, Sakura looked at Itachi for help. He didn't say anything, just looked at her steadily.

_He's right._

"Okay. We'll be back as soon as it's safe. Take care of Naruto!" She accepted her pack from Neji, squeezing his hand in thanks.

"Go. Take care of Raiton; I'll be right behind you."

"You'd better be on your way before they realize that you're gone." Gaara looked very directly at Itachi. "I'll make sure that you're not followed."

Itachi nodded, and he and Sakura took off at top speed into the night. Out of Suna and back towards the Land of Fire.

* * *

Fugaku drummed his fingers on the grimy table. He sipped his drink slowly, savoring the pleasant burn of alcohol. Watching the clock on the wall, he lazily tracked the minute hand. Finally, as his patience was starting to wane, the door to his private room in the seedy pub burst open.

He watched, emotionless as his subordinates stumbled into the room, out of breath. He waited, knowing that they would grow uncomfortable with his silence. He liked being in control, it infuriated him that he was having to take drastic measures to get what he wanted.

Finally, he spoke. "Well, did it work?"

"Yes, without a doubt, Uchiha-sama!" The taller of the two lackeys stepped forward, clearly pleased with himself. "They left the village, just as you planned it. They're heading back towards the Land of Fire."

"Good."

"Uchiha-sama, how did you know that Itachi would fall for us staging a search in the Haruno girl's room?"

"Itachi never could resist a distressed animal, make it scream and he'll come running." Fugaku's tone was icy, but underneath he was triumphant. "I know my son, he's easy to predict. He's usually too empathetic to be useful."

"What about the Hokage's student?"

At that, Fugaku leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. He frowned, "She almost had me fooled, the clever little thing. I wouldn't have guessed anything if she hadn't run straight to Itachi. Tell Nawa's men to keep in range of them, but don't attack for at least four days. I want Itachi to get caught with his guard down. They're to bring me Haruno unharmed, she could be the bargaining chip that turns the tide."

"Sir?"

"Don't kill the bitch, I want her alive. Hurt is fine, just don't do any permanent damage."

"To heal your men, sir?"

Impatient, Fugaku leaned forward and glared. "She could be useful. If she's as important to Tsunade as I've been told, she may sacrifice Konoha in exchange for Haruno's life."

"I see. The trap is set, they'll be in range of Nawa's men by tomorrow night."

"Good. In the meantime, I want Uzumaki Naruto watched, tell our mole that I want reports twice a day. Also, any correspondence must be searched. I don't want any of Tsunade's allies catching wind of my plans. And contact Orochimaru, I think I might have something to offer him for Konoha's immunity."

His cronies shifted uneasily, uncomfortable at the mention of the Akatsuki leader's plans. "Offer him?"

"Oh yes. I may have some use for Itachi after all."

He was talking feverishly, the glint in his eye was malicious. He stopped, then pulled himself back together and stared coldly at the two men who were watching him. "What are you waiting for? Go!"

They took off, barely sparing a glance at the puppet master who still sat calmly in his chair. Taking another measured sip of his drink, Fugaku gloated.

_I've got them._

* * *

Itachi moved so quickly that Sakura was afraid to slow down; she might lose her balance and stumble. For hours they ran, the chakra regeneration jutsu fueling her to keep moving. She and Itachi barely spoke, so she was alone with her thoughts.

_Okay, so forget about the dream. You need to talk to him about the chakra transfer, you don't need it anymore. You need to set your boundaries and make it clear that you are only teammates._

She wouldn't let herself even consider the possibility that they were more; there was no time for emotion. She knew that she didn't have the courage to admit to him how much he affected her.

_I want to know if he knew about the dangers of the chakra transfer. But he wouldn't have offered if he knew. How do I ask him without starting a fight? I don't want to accuse him of anything._

Itachi was frustrated. He was mulling over what he had planned to say in his head, each time scrapping it and starting all over.

_I need to know what she's thinking. If she had a problem with what I told her then she should have made that clear. Acting all weird around me makes me suspect the worst. When we stop to rest I'll talk to her. But I don't want to start a fight._

Sakura glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. His face was set in a grim mask of concentration, but from her angle it looked like he was furious. The silence between them was tense, neither one of them knew what to say.

They ran for over a day, not even stopping to rest. They kept their energy up by eating the field rations that Gaara had given them. Itachi didn't even know why they were still running, but he didn't know that Sakura was also dreading the moment that they did stop.

Finally, after the moon was high in the sky, they stopped in a clearing for the night. Sakura was happy to be back in the forest, but she was worried. The chakra regeneration jutsu had worn out during their journey and she was feeling exhausted.

They were standing just off the banks of a silent lake, and she gratefully stepped out into the shallows to splash water on her face. Frowning at how much algae was growing at the surface, she concentrated her chakra and walked out into the center of the water's surface.

Itachi watched her with some amusement. He had never seen someone flaunt perfect chakra control so casually. He could feel his stony expression softening and he leaned gratefully against a tree. He was just allowing himself to relax when his head snapped up as he heard a splash.

Sakura's left knee had given out, and she almost slipped under the surface as she got her chakra back under control.  _I depleted the whole damn jutsu._

She was breathing hard, looking once more like she was about to pass out. But she remained on the surface, her chakra control still good enough to keep her from falling into the water. "Damn!"

Itachi took a step out onto the water, concern overriding their icy silence. "Sakura, can I help-"

"Okay, that's enough. I'm done. " She put up a hand to stop him, and he did. They stood on the top of the water, standing there for so long that the ripples faded away and the surface of the water was like glass once more.

"What's your problem?"

"Just pick a personality, Itachi! I don't know how I'm supposed to act around you if you're constantly changing your mind!"

"I'm not changing my mind; you react no matter what I say."

"No, I react when you say something insensitive or nonsensical."

"Apparently that's almost everything."

"Why don't you tell me what you're actually mad about?" She was surprised when the words left her lips; they had a mind of their own. She held her breath, unsure what he was going to say. She didn't know what she wanted to hear.

"Fine. If you had a problem with what I told you yesterday, you should have said so!"

She was taken aback, unsure of what he was talking about. "What?"

"What I told you, about my mother."

" _That's_  what you're mad about?"

Sakura was completely blindsided, she had no idea that he'd thought that she was disgusted by him. She couldn't bring herself to tell him the complete truth. "Itachi, I don't care. I believe that you didn't kill her."

He said nothing, his anger dissipating. The silence between them was deafening.

She sighed, deciding that she needed to know one thing. "Itachi, did you know about the chakra transfer risks?"

"What are you talking about?" It was his turn to be surprised, and his brow furrowed.

"Granny Chiyo told me that getting chakra from someone with a kekkei genkai could kill me."

He was completely thrown, he'd had no idea. "I didn't know. The only person who I'd done it with had a sharingan, we were just kids. I wouldn't have offered it in the first place if I thought that it was dangerous."

"I just wanted to be sure. I had no idea either."

An uneasy silence fell between them. "Well it can't ever happen again, I could have a bad reaction to it now that my system has been exposed."

"Why?"

"You're genetically different, I thought that was obvious."

"Not that different."

"Different enough."

"Look, I'm sorry. I was only thinking that there had to be a way to keep both you and Naruto alive."

"I know." She sighed and scuffed the surface of the water with her toe, raising ripples that spread and lapped at Itachi's feet. "I'm sorry too, for making you think that I had a problem with you."

_It's actually the opposite, which is even worse._

"We don't know each other very well, so I guess there was a miscommunication."

They stood in silence for what felt like hours. An unspoken truth hung in the air between them, and Sakura couldn't bring herself to say anything.

_I care about what happens to you._

Itachi finally sighed, running a hand through his bangs. "What's it going to take before you let your guard down around me? I thought that you would have figured out by now that I'm not your enemy."

She felt her heart skip a beat when she saw his expression. She didn't answer for a long minute, and then hugged her arms to her chest. "It's not that."

"Then what is it? Sakura, I'm done with fighting. It's all that we do."

"I have a hard time letting anyone in. It's not on you."

"Well if you think that you have to prove yourself, you don't. I have no doubt at this point that you can handle yourself."

She laughed quietly at that, finally recognizing that as a compliment. "Thanks, I think."

He stepped closer until he was standing in front of her. "When you said that it's okay to let people in, no matter what you'd been through, did you mean that?"

"Of course I did, what…?"

"I thought that maybe you were starting to trust me. Maybe I was wrong."

The tension in the air was so thick that she could have cut through it with a knife.

"I do." She whispered, her heartbeat increasing with each breath. "It's complicated. You're right, but-"

"But what? Either you do or you don't."

They were standing closely together, and she couldn't help herself. Sakura decided against her better judgement to be honest. "You aren't like anyone I've ever met. You scare me sometimes."

He didn't say anything, but she could see that she'd affected him. She rushed to continue, scared that she had hurt him. "Because you piss me off and I can't stop thinking about you. Which is incredibly inappropriate and  _so cliche-_ "

"So this is why you were acting so weird."

She couldn't look at him as the rush of words left her lips.

"This isn't the time or the place to talk about this! It's the chakra transfer, it's messing with me-"

Sakura cut off as he suddenly caught her lips with his. She paused, slightly shocked at herself when her lips returned the pressure and her eyes fluttered shut. Itachi pulled back almost immediately, and her lips suddenly felt cold as his warmth lifted away. They stood there in silence for a moment, never breaking eye contact. She held her breath as he gradually moved closer to her again, as if to give her a chance to pull away.

_Oh. So that's why we fight all the time._

She didn't move a muscle as he carefully brought his lips back to hers. He kissed her slowly as his hands moved to cup her face and slide into her hair. He was so gentle; it was almost as if he was afraid of breaking her. She felt lightheaded and dizzy as one of his hands slid down her back to press her closer. He was surprised and relieved when she kissed him back, he had been afraid that she would punch him.

Lost in the moment, Sakura suddenly lost her concentration and they plunged into the lake.


	17. Penance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura and Itachi deal with the aftermath of their kiss. Itachi finally admits to Sakura what's wrong with his eyes, and she willingly enters the mangekyou sharingan to try and heal him. What she finds there is a painful truth.

Her whole system was shocked by the cold water, and she kicked off of the bottom as quickly as she could. Coughing, she surfaced to see Itachi laughing at her. They were both soaked, and she couldn't help but notice that he was looking at her with a glint in his eye that made her want to duck back under the water.

"Shut up! Itachi, that's not funny!"

He was still laughing; she had never seen him look so amused. "The look on your face is priceless."

She grudgingly let him pull her closer, conscious of the fact that a dark blush coloured her cheeks. "I, um, yeah so that happened." She said lamely, avoiding his direct gaze.

He chuckled again and tapped her affectionately on the forehead, making her jump. "Relax, just accept it."

"Well, we should probably talk at some point, um-"

"We have plenty of time."

"Um, okay." She couldn't help the tiny smile that started to creep over her features, and she spun in the water so that he couldn't see her face. "I think I'm covered in algae."

"I'm going to start a fire. Come out of the water when you're ready."

Turning so she couldn't see the shy grin that lit up his face, he began to swim back to the shallows, leaving her floating there.

She was completely and utterly shocked and yet oddly happy.  _I just kissed Itachi._

She ducked under the water and let out a long stream of bubbles. Swimming around for a few moments, she finally got her thoughts back into some kind of rational rhythm.  _Okay, so obviously I'm not imagining that there's something going on between us. As long as it doesn't get in the way of the mission, it's fine. Harmless, actually._

In any other situation, she would have been scandalized, but there was something different about Itachi. Sakura knew that it had nothing to do with how much he resembled Sasuke; he'd shocked her with his willingness to sacrifice himself in order to protect Konoha and their team. To protect her.

Sakura surfaced slowly, still thinking.  _He's right; it's okay that we barely know each other. We can work on that._

She snickered silently into the water, finally cluing in.  _All of the arguing makes sense now. So that's what Temari was talking about, I'm really dense._

She glanced over to the forest, where she could see the faint, flickering light from a fire. Shivering, she paddled towards the shore.

Sakura stopped for a moment, stepping behind a tree so that Itachi wouldn't see her. He was sitting by the fire, his expression pained. She watched as he flinched, and then suddenly opened his eyes. Even from where she was standing, she could see the sharingan melting away from his dark eyes.

* * *

Itachi was deep in thought, his momentary happiness destroyed by the returning whispers. He closed his eyes, trying to ignore them, but they were getting louder.

_Traitor. Liar. You never cared about anyone but yourself, you left me with our father. You abandoned me._

"Itachi..?"

He almost jumped when he heard Sakura's voice coming from beside him. He had been so focused that he hadn't heard her walk up from the lake. "You took your time."

"What's wrong?" She sat down beside him, hugging her knees to her chest. Sakura was looking at him with so much concern in her eyes that he had to look away.

"It's nothing."

"Don't lie to me." Her tone made it clear that she was troubled and he finally turned to look at her. "What's really wrong with your eyes?"

"How did you know?" His voice was steady, which surprised him. She hesitated for a moment, and then settled herself on her knees in front of him.

"You never keep your sharingan on, and I can't find anything physically wrong. When you think that no one is watching it looks like you're in pain. Are you?"

He laughed softly, shaking his head. "I should have known that you'd notice. I don't know if it's my eyes, or if I'm just losing my mind."

"Tell me what's happening. Maybe I can help."

He raised his gaze to meet hers, moved by the determination that he saw there. "I can hear a voice in my head. It comes and goes."

Admitting it felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and it was all he could do not to sigh with relief.

She raised her eyebrows, concerned. "A voice? Whose?"

Sakura knew in her bones what the answer would be. She was dreading the answer, and she shared a weighty stare with Itachi before he finally spoke.

"It's Sasuke's."

Despite herself, she let out a little gasp of surprise, her eyes prickling with the beginning of tears. "When did this start?"

"Not long after the transplant. It feels like I'm being watched, or Sasuke talks to me. I think that I dream his last memories sometimes."

His brow furrowed, he was annoyed and very aware of the fact that he sounded slightly shaky.

"What do you mean?"

"I kill myself. Or Sasuke. And I see you, covered in his blood."

She fell silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. Finally, she found her voice.

"What does Sasuke's voice say?"

"You really want to know?" He was hesitant, feeling more vulnerable than he had in a long time. It was different between them now, it mattered to him what she thought.

"Yes. I do."

She hoped that she sounded surer than she felt. Her stomach was knotted with worry, and the happy bubble that she had nursed in her chest was about to burst.

"Tell me, please."

"Well, it's more or less what Fugaku thinks of me. That I'm a liar, a traitor."

"And do you believe that?"

Her serious eyes watched him for a moment, and he sighed. "I don't know; it's not that simple."

"Well, I don't. It turns out that you aren't the selfish jerk that I took you for." She replied drily, smirking at his confused expression.

"Should I take that as a compliment?" Her reaction had somewhat eased the anxious knot in his chest, he just watched her as her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Yes."

"So do you need to take another look at my eyes?"

"I don't think so. This isn't the strangest thing that I've ever heard, but I also don't understand all of the specifics of the sharingan."

She was immediately focused; he could practically hear her brain working at light speed.

"Okay, so they came along with Sasuke's sharingan. There may be a simple explanation." She took a deep, steadying breath. "Some of Sasuke's chakra could still be in your eyes so he-"

"So it's really him?" Itachi interrupted her, his heart in his throat.

He was suddenly wracked with a wave of guilt that threatened to engulf him. "He's actually…alive?"

_That's what he really thinks of me._

Sakura settled back onto her heels, her expression pensive. "Not in a literal sense. Have you used the mangekyou since the transplant?"

"I haven't. What are you thinking?"

"I think that Sasuke's chakra might be activating the mangekyou, and your retina has just enough of his chakra in it to make you think that you're under the influence of genjutsu."

He thought for a moment, considering her words. "I don't know how that could be possible. It affects sharingan users differently. I would know."

"Does it get worse when you have the sharingan activated?"

He had nothing to say, he decided to let the sharingan flow over his dark eyes instead. She stiffened slightly when she saw it, but continued to look him in the eye. Itachi didn't react as the voice started up again.

_Bastard. You had to take what was mine, she only ever wanted me._

"Yes, it does."

She thought hard for a moment, steeling herself for what she was about to say. "Okay, well there's only one way to know for sure if it's him. I can't detect his chakra from the outside."

He was confused for a split second, then his eyes widened as he caught on. "No, I'm not putting you in there. It's too risky."

"Control the mangekyou and nothing will happen to me." She reached forward and untied his headband, gently setting it aside. "You can stop anything that happens."

"Sakura, it's a possibility that I'm imagining all of this. The guilt-"

She held up a hand, stopping him mid-sentence. "Well then we'll know for sure and deal with it then."

"For the record, I think that this is a terrible idea."

"It might be, but it could also help."

They stared at each other for a moment, and Sakura reached out to take Itachi's hands in her own. She was shocked at how bold she was, but she'd already kissed him for heaven's sake.

_It's okay, I shouldn't feel awkward._

Her touch was reassuring and he returned the pressure, trying to think of a logical alternative to her plan.

_What if it all goes wrong and I can't control it?_

He knew that she was onto something, but that didn't meant that he liked her proposal.

Sighing deeply, he shrugged his shoulders in grudging acceptance and nodded. "Okay, fine. But I'm pulling you out if anything doesn't feel right."

"Okay, I'm ready."

She tried not to flinch as his dark irises flooded with the blood red of the sharingan. She had never actually seen a mangekyou in action, and she was both fascinated and terrified by the swirling black pinwheel.

_Traitor. Bastard. Liar!_

"Be careful, Sakura."

She didn't remember falling to the ground.

* * *

Sakura opened her eyes, slowly taking in the room around her. It didn't seem to have an edge; it was just an endless pool of shallow water. She stood up slowly, trying to get her bearings. Looking down at her hands, she realized that she was suddenly completely devoid of colour, everything was black and white.

She stood for a moment, waiting for anything to change. She breathed a small sigh of relief.

"See, Itachi? I told you that you wouldn't let anything happen. No torture to be found."

Sakura didn't know if he would hear her, but it made her feel better knowing that he was keeping watch.

Breaking into a jog, she started off. She hadn't been running for very long before she heard a sound that stopped her mid-stride.

_What was that? It can't be-_

The sound of a child sobbing cut through the air like a knife. Growing increasingly nervous, she tried to pinpoint where it was coming from.

Finally she saw him, curled up in a ball. Drawing closer, she stifled a gasp as she recognized him.

A young Sasuke looked at her blearily, scrubbing the tears from his cheeks. "S-Sakura? What are you doing here?"

Her heart plummeting into her knees, she darted over to him and knelt down. "Sasuke, I-"

"Did you come to kill me?"

She felt her blood run cold as Sasuke regarded her with his dark, serious eyes. "No! Of course not!"

"My father said that anyone who works for the Hokage is dangerous."

"Why?"

"They're bad people. They turned Itachi against us." His small face scrunched up again and the tears began anew.

"Sasuke, do you know why you're here?"

"No!" He wailed, hugging his knees to his chest. "I want to see my mother!"

"I'm sorry Sasuke; I don't know where she is."

He glared at her; his small face was dark with anger. "Itachi killed her!"

Sakura was struggling to find the words to comfort Sasuke; she could feel her frustration mounting. "Sasuke, I think we should talk about that for a minute."

He hiccuped, staring at her in silence.

"Itachi loves you, I hope you know that."

"Then why would he leave me?!" Sasuke suddenly jumped to his feet, his expression furious. He pointed an accusing finger at her, shaking his head furiously.

"He sent you here! This whole place feels like his chakra, I hate it! I hate him!"

"Sasuke…"

Sakura held out a hand, motioning for Sasuke to sit down beside her. "Here, let's play a game. I can tell you the truth about everything."

He was suddenly calm again, his five-year old face thoughtful. "I like games, but how can I trust you?"

She reached into her weapons pouch and pulled out a kunai, offering it to him. "Now you can protect yourself, I won't hurt you. You like competitions, right?"

"Yeah, I do."

He shimmered for a moment, his form blurring, and Sakura recoiled as he suddenly aged. No longer was he the scared child, but a scowling teenager.

_Oh Sasuke._

He glared at her, raising an eyebrow. "So what? Are you going to tell me the rules or not?"

Finally finding her voice, she swallowed hard and tried to think fast. "You get to ask me any questions that you want, I will always answer truthfully."

He scrunched his eyebrows together and crossed his arms. "This doesn't sound like a game, I'm not interested."

She took a deep breath, steeling herself for her answer. "It is, because you have to beat me in combat. If you defeat me I will answer a question. "

"And if I don't? "

"Then we'll both be stuck here, I guess. And you'll never know the truth. I guess you're just too scared."

"How will I know that I've won?" He asked accusingly, tapping his foot.

She was relieved that he seemed to be himself; Sasuke never could back down from a challenge. She hoped that he wouldn't catch on to the fact that she intended to throw every match.

"First blood. Just like training for the exams."

"I remember. I won't go easy on you."

"Good, don't."

She didn't know how long they would be in the mangekyou, for all she knew, she'd only been in there for five minutes. It felt like hours.

They fought for what seemed like days.

Sakura could tell that Sasuke was getting frustrated. They clashed together, again and again as she used the smallest amount of effort that she could manage to beat him. He was better than she remembered, but then again she hadn't fought him since they were fifteen. It had been seven years.

She focused on dodging, trying to fool him. All that she needed was blood drawn, not any serious injuries.

He was fighting with his characteristic stony expression, and it made her heart ache.

She tried not to focus on how young he was. It was bringing up so many memories.

_The Chunin exams, training with Kakashi-sensei, eating dango with Naruto and Shikamaru while Sasuke threw shuriken in the backyard. Surprising Sasuke with tomatoes from the garden, celebratory ramen with the team._

_A moonlight night where he'd rejected her. Sasuke poking her in the forehead when she managed to trip him during a sparring match. Their last mission together, then he'd left the team._

She shook her head, attempting to banish those memories as Sasuke threw himself into the fight with renewed vigor. She noticed with some surprise that he wasn't using his sharingan.

_Is it because he doesn't have control over it anymore..?_

The thought filled her with melancholy, and she stumbled.

It didn't matter. She felt a surge of triumph and she tried to mask her relief as he finally managed to cut her. Wiping away the blood from her shoulder, she waited.

He didn't waste any time with the questions.

"Did Itachi kill me?"

"Yes, he couldn't see that it was you."

A nick on her hand, small but painful.

"Did my father want me to die so that he could get my sharingan?"

She had almost fallen over in shock when he asked that question; she thought that he had been kept in the dark. Seeing her expression, he gestured to the vastness above them. "I can hear what Itachi hears sometimes."

"Yes. When he couldn't have yours he killed your cousin Shisui."

Another cut, this one on her forearm.

"Why?"

"He wanted an eternal mangekyou."

A deep nick on her cheek sent a stream of scarlet blood flying into the air. She noticed dimly that it was the only thing that had any colour. It hung in the air for a long time; both she and Sasuke seemed to be mesmerized by it.

Clearing his throat, Sasuke asked yet another question.

"Did Itachi want to kill me?"

"No, never."

They continued to fight; Sakura didn't bother to block some of Sasuke's blows, triumphant that her plan was actually working. Another cut, this one just below her collarbone.

"You tried to save my life."

"Yes I did. I couldn't stop the bleeding."

Her leg was dripping with blood from a shallow cut on her thigh, she hadn't been expecting him to feint and drive the kunai upwards so quickly.

"Did Itachi betray the Uchiha clan for his own gain?"

"No, he did it to save his family and Konoha from civil war."

Sasuke pointed an accusing finger at her, breathing hard from both exertion and anger. "You're lying to me!"

"Sasuke, if your father had attempted a coup it would have meant the destruction of your clan. He did it to protect you."

She didn't recoil this time as his form shimmered again and he aged even further. The adult Sasuke glared at her with renewed frustration, now wielding his katana.

She was forced to use all of her taijutsu skill to dodge his blows now; she finally had to work hard. They were both dripping with sweat and she could feel the blood on her cheek still streaming down into the corner of her mouth.

Pivoting to avoid another lethal strike from the katana, she barely managed to strafe out of the way of his other arm. It was buzzing with lethal chakra, and she tried to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. Her arm brushed against the katana as she shot backwards and she felt the sting of another cut.

_He might actually kill me._

He finally stopped his attack, thinking for a moment when he realized that she was nursing a new wound.

"Did Itachi really poison our mother?" He asked quietly, looking more vulnerable than she'd seen in years. She felt her chest tighten with sorrow.

"No, he wasn't even in the village. Your father saw an opportunity to awaken your mangekyou and he took it."

"I-"

He took one step towards her and she tensed when he stumbled. Blood began to pour out of his chest and leg and she was frozen in place, unable to force herself to move.

_It's happening again, he died from those wounds! Move, Sakura! You can try to save him this time!_

Finally, she was able to propel her body into motion. Darting over to him, she eased him onto his back, ignoring his weak protests. "Sasuke, it's okay."

"I'm sorry; I should have been a better teammate."

Shocked, she stared at him. He coughed weakly, the blood seeping through his wounds even faster now. His breath rattled in his chest, and he smirked. "Guess I should have stayed with the team. Maybe I wouldn't have died."

"You can't think like that! Naruto and I never stopped thinking of you as a teammate; you'll always be a part of team seven." She fed healing chakra into his wounds, burning away the anti-coagulant and clotting his blood.

"Do one thing for me."

She was shocked out of her focused state, finally meeting his shining eyes with her own. "Anything."

"Tell Itachi that it's okay, I-" He cut off with another racking cough, wiping the blood away from his mouth. "Ask him to avenge me."

"Don't worry, we will!" She nodded fiercely, gripping his hands with hers before returning to the healing process.

"I guess that's blood, your turn to ask a question." He sounded so amused, she almost lost her composure. A solitary tear crept down her cheek, stinging as it encountered her cut.

She thought for a second, focusing on healing his wounds. There was one thing that she was curious about; it was burning a hole in her stomach. Finally, she felt herself uttering the words.

"Your father said that you loved me, was that true?"

He smirked at her and coughed again. "Dummy, why would he say that?"

She was shocked when he reached up and poked her in the forehead, leaving a smear of blood. "Sakura, thank you. You can let me go now."

"No! Sasuke, your wounds are almost healed, give me another minute-"

"It's okay. I can leave now, I know the truth."

She stared at him in shocked silence as he sighed and closed his eyes. "Don't let Naruto be the best shinobi in the village, and-"

Blood bubbled once again out of his leg wound, and he laboriously moved a hand to stop her from healing it. She was frozen, confused and full of regret.

"S-Sasuke?"

"My father…he will… use your emotions… against you. Don't… let…him…"

His breath left his chest in one long sigh, and she felt tears slipping down her face as his head fell to the side. His trademark smirk drooped slightly as the life left him once again.

Sobbing, she sat with his head cradled in her lap.

She didn't know how much time had passed, it could have been days. She finally opened her eyes as a sudden wind started up, ruffling her hair.

Sasuke's body was gone.

She was sitting there alone; there was no sign of him.

He was free.


	18. Gambit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto is finally summoned to Sage Mountain and is able to wake up. Sakura and Itachi discuss Sasuke's release from the mangekyou. Information is revealed about Fugaku's obsession with power, and Fugaku makes the dangerous choice to meet with Orochimaru.

**AN: Hey guys! I really appreciate all of the love on the last few chapters! The reviews really do mean a lot to me. As the story progresses I'm finding it more difficult to write, things are going to start to get really intense (in my opinion anyways). As a little hint/teaser for those of you who are still reading, I never said that Sasuke's character arc _is finished_. Take that as you will. ;)**

* * *

Drip.

Drip.

Drip.

_Slap._

Naruto's eyes popped open as he felt the sting of Gamakichi's hard slap. He sat straight up, rubbing his cheek in annoyance. "Hey! What the hell was that for?!"

It was with some disgust that he wiped the slime off of his cheek.

"Hey. Look, if you're going to try to make it to Sage Mountain you'd better make sure that you make it before you pass out."

Naruto was annoyed enough that he didn't even bother to grin at the large frog smugly crossing his arms and settling into a crouch.

"What?" Naruto finally took a moment to look at his hands and body, shocked to find that he was slightly transparent. "What's going on?"

"You were in limbo, for like a week. You're lucky to be alive. Dad's got everyone working to summon you properly, since you botched it."

"Did the old lady send you to help me?"

"Nah, Sakura sent a little slug. Smart, I like her."

"Yeah she is. What's happened? Is she okay?"

"Not really sure, everything is pretty tied up here. All I know is that dad got the message and then took it to the head honchos. You almost died, Naruto."

He let out a long stream of cigarette smoke, staring grumpily at the blond shinobi.

His hand straying to his stomach, Naruto was suddenly wracked with guilt. "I couldn't talk to Kurama, it's like the connection was destroyed."

"It pretty much was; Sakura and some old woman from Suna were working really hard to get your body into good enough shape to fix it. You had heart attacks and seizures, Sakura almost lost you twice. Give it a few minutes; you're already almost out of limbo."

"Whoa, that's some serious shit." Inspecting his body, he could tell that he was already becoming more opaque. He breathed a sigh of relief, running a hand through his eternally fluffy hair.

"What's serious is what's going down in Konoha. Tsunade's got Kakashi nosing around, Dad mentioned that he'd dug up some pretty concerning stuff."

"Like what?"

"Well, the Uchiha have got dirt on at least four powerful clans, so Tsunade's worried."

"Do you know which ones?" Naruto felt a small knot of worry starting to settle into his stomach and he scrunched up his face in thought.

"Nope, but if this Fugaku guy decides to make a move it could drive Konoha into a major war. We're talking multiple countries here."

"Gamakichi, I know I'm not fully healed yet, but I need to get back to Konoha as fast as I can."

The frog sighed, then hopped around for a moment, thinking. "If we can get you and the Kyuubi back on the same page then you're good."

"Okay, I'll get on that."

"Hold up! You're still too weak, you need at least one day here before your body is strong enough to-"

There was a sudden, loud popping noise and suddenly Naruto was fully opaque. "What the f-"

"Finally! About time that the reverse summoning jutsu worked! You'd better thank the elders; they woke up from hibernation for this, it took 'em almost a full day."

Naruto crossed his arms, thinking hard. "I will. We need to figure out how to stop Fugaku without tearing Konoha apart. Can you get a message to Sakura?"

"Yeah, super easy. What are you thinking?"

"We need to take Fugaku down, and fast. Or else there won't be a Konoha for me to be Hokage of. But I need to get Kurama fixed up first, he might be in worse shape than me."

"I'll get some oil, start meditatin'. And you'd better thank Sakura, she almost died saving you."

"I can't count how many times she's saved my ass, it's time I start paying her back."

* * *

Sakura's emerald eyes flew open. She sucked in a deep breath of air, her lungs felt like she'd been holding her breath. She remained frozen for a moment, confused by her surroundings.  _What? Why am I in a cave?_

She immediately slapped herself in the forehead when her hand flew up to touch the spot where Sasuke had poked her. There was no blood on her skin, but she could have sworn that she still felt it.

Dimly she registered Itachi's face above hers, his brow furrowed in concern. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Itachi? How long was I out?"

She was comfortable, warm even. Adjusting her position slightly, she realized with some surprise that her head was cradled on Itachi's lap. She didn't need to turn her head to know that he had started a fire.

"About an hour. I was getting concerned; you didn't wake up right away when I severed the genjutsu."

Suddenly, the events of the mangekyou came crashing into her mind and she took a sudden sharp breath. "Itachi, Sasuke's-"

"I know, I saw and heard everything."

She made a move to sit up, but was hit with a wave of vertigo. He brought a hand up against her spine, supporting her as she eased into a sitting position. "Don't push yourself; you've been through a lot."

"I'm more concerned about you, are you okay?"

He laughed ruefully, ducking his head. "The honest answer is no. But Sasuke's not trapped now, so in a way I'm alright."

He trailed off, unsure of what to say next.  _Thank you for freeing my brother, I know that must have been hard for you too._

"You would have figured it out, you didn't know. Don't you dare blame yourself."

"It's not that simple. I killed him, so I do feel that way."

"Sasuke knows that you didn't do it on purpose, he understands. You heard what he said."

"I did."

For the first time, she could see that his eyes were shining brightly in the dark.  _Oh, Itachi._

She felt tears pooling once again in her eyes and she bit her lip to stop herself from reaching out and drawing him into her arms. She was afraid that he would shut her out.  _Don't be stupid._

"Do you want to be alone?"

His head darted up, and he looked at her very directly. She felt her heartbeat double from the look in his eyes; they were very dark and very intense. His eyes narrowed for a split second when he thought that he saw a tiny flash of scarlet in her irises. He blinked and they changed back immediately to a vivid green, he let out the anxious breath that he'd been holding.  _I must have imagined it._

"Alone is the last thing that I want right now." He murmured, absentmindedly drawing circles on her back. She shivered, but not from the cold.

"Okay." Sakura whispered, "If you want to talk about it, I'm here."

"I know."

"Good." She couldn't take the intensity of his gaze any longer, and she looked away. "You moved us away from the lake?"

"It felt too exposed. This cave is a good spot to wait out the storm."

"Storm?"

He smirked slightly, inclining his head to the left. She hadn't noticed that it was pouring, and the silvery sheets of rainwater glinted off the light of the fire. "Oh, good idea. But what about the light from the fire?"

"I've placed kunai markers with a camouflage genjutsu around the entrance, you can't tell that there's a cave until you're in it."

"Clever." She crossed her arms around her knees and studied the floor, very aware of his steady gaze.

"I thought so. I've been doing some thinking."

There was something in his tone that made her stomach do a little somersault, and she slowly raised her gaze to meet his. "You have?"

She hated that her voice was shaking, but she couldn't help how nervous she was now. Sakura couldn't decide if she wanted to kiss him again or run screaming into the night. Maybe both.

She was almost relieved when she saw that he was completely serious, there was no hint of a smirk.

"It was almost too easy, us leaving Suna. I can't shake the feeling that we were supposed to."

"You think that your father planned it."

"Yeah, I acted too quickly, didn't think it through. Those guys searching your room were making too much noise, talking too clearly."

"How so?"

"Talking about how they were going to surprise and grab you. They said everything and nothing at the same time."

"Basically they told you enough to get your attention."

"Yeah, but not enough to pinpoint the reason why my father wants you out of the picture."

"I think that you might be right." She shrugged, thinking hard. "It was a bad idea for us to be out in the open, I hadn't really considered that Fugaku would be watching me so closely. There was a guy who followed me to the hospital but he was being so obvious that I wasn't that concerned."

His brow furrowed and his expression darkened. "If he's bold enough to send a tail after you in broad daylight that proves it. It was a distraction technique."

Itachi stood up abruptly, and Sakura was taken aback as he started to pace. She hadn't realized how cold it was in the cave until he moved away.

"Itachi, you couldn't have known that he was playing us."

"No, but I should have anticipated it. He must have figured out that I would react if he threatened you."

"Anyone would do that, Itachi. It's human, you can't blame yourself; nothing's happened."

"Nothing yet. We need to be careful; we might be walking into a trap."

He was becoming increasingly more frustrated, annoyed at himself for missing such an obvious ploy.

"Okay, so we'll just have to come up with an action plan."

"We wouldn't be in this position if I wasn't distracted-"

"Itachi, stop!" She interrupted him, scrambling to her feet. "I would have done the same thing, you can be upset if we get captured or killed."

"If we get killed?" He smirked at her and she frowned.

"You know what I mean! If we get killed I will absolutely yell at you."

"Well I did say that you could later, I think this qualifies."

She was confused for a moment, then she remembered how he'd tried to sneak up on her in Suna and her annoyance grew. "Oh yeah, what the hell were you doing? Why didn't you say something before you grabbed me?!"

He shrugged, still smirking, which infuriated her even more. "I have no idea; it seemed like a good plan at the time. I'm impressed though, you almost threw me off my feet."

"Itachi, you're missing the point." She sighed, running a hand through her still-damp hair. "I'm done; I don't have the energy to stay mad right now. What do you suggest that we do about your father?"

He settled into a cross-legged position, all mirth suddenly gone. His expression was pensive.

"I would normally say that we should send out shadow clones, they would distract anyone who's trying to corner us."

Sakura sat down across the fire from him, mirroring his sitting position. "What's wrong with that?"

"I don't know how far they'll need to range out; it'll take massive amounts of chakra for us to control several at once."

Sakura was suddenly struck with an idea. "What about steam clones?"

He raised an eyebrow thoughtfully. "They seem to take a lot less chakra to control, why do you bring that up?"

"I bet more than one of Raiton's men use them, and they're most likely the ones who would be following us out here."

"You're suggesting that I use my sharingan to learn the technique and then we use them to our advantage?"

"Exactly. That's the last thing that they'll be expecting."

He leaned back, crossing his arms. "Not a bad plan, it could work. We have no guarantees that anyone else will use the clones, we'll use them if we can. We can use the shadow clones if it doesn't pan out."

"We could, but there's another option. What's your contract like with the crows?"

She'd managed to surprise him, and he stared at her for a few seconds before cracking a small smile. "How do you even know about that? I thought I'd kept it pretty quiet."

She laughed, rolling her eyes. "You try spending time as the Hokage's apprentice for seven years. She has a lot of files that need organizing, and I'm a very fast reader. The records are pretty thorough."

"Well that's hardly fair." She glanced over to see that his expression had turned almost playful. "I haven't read your file."

"Nothing's fair! You didn't answer my question, by the way."

He sighed, trying and failing to be stern. "I can use them to make clones, yes. If I made any for you then I'd need to use a camouflage jutsu on top of that, so they're not very efficient. How many clones can you make?"

"I can handle about ten shadow clones if you need them to range out."

"That's not easy."

"No, but that's as many as Naruto's been able to help me make so far. I don't have it down, but the technique can be useful."

"That's a good idea. I think we should wait out the storm here and then figure out what to do."

She fiddled with a rock that she'd found on the ground, steeling herself for what she was about to say. "Itachi, can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead." He wasn't nervous about being vulnerable around her anymore; she had already seen the darkest side of him. She hadn't left yet, he was slowly becoming more confident that she wouldn't.

"Was your father always like this?"

He felt his breath catch in his chest; he hadn't been expecting that question. Letting out a long sigh, he closed his eyes for a moment. "No, he used to be kind. Stern mostly, but he was a good father."

"What happened?" Sakura's eyes were wide and she wondered if she was overstepping, but Itachi didn't hesitate to answer.  _Maybe I shouldn't have asked._

"His brother was killed on a mission to retrieve Senju scrolls. Apparently he was too badly injured to travel and was left behind when the party got attacked. A cousin of mine went back later to end his suffering and bring his body home."

"Who attacked them?"

"I think it was Orochimaru. There was something in the scrolls that held clues to some Senju clan secret, so the Hokage was determined to have it retrieved. My grandfather was desperate to get my uncle's body back, I guess Orochimaru's always wanted to get his hands on a sharingan."

"So your father blames the Third Hokage?"

"No, more like the institution itself. The blood feud between the Senju and my family has been going on for far longer than that, my father feels that the Uchiha have been robbed. My uncle's death was just an excuse for him to get angry."

"Robbed of what, power? It's not like he's a regular citizen."

Itachi laughed, but there was no humor in his tone. "You're trying to apply reason where there is none. He wants to be in control of everything."

"I get that, but the things that he's done…Itachi they're insane."

"I'm sure there's more that I don't know about. I can honestly say that he's the only person that I've ever been truly afraid of."

Sakura felt a cold shiver slip down her spine. The fact that Itachi had admitted to being scared of Fugaku freaked her out. "It was probably really stupid of me to provoke him."

"He had his eye on you before that; I think he was going to do something crazy no matter how your conversation went."

"Somehow that doesn't make me feel any better. How old were you when your uncle died?"

"Nine, I think. He got really cold and strict after that. He wanted me to make ANBU so badly; I guess he figured that he would have a spy in the administration if I got in."

Sakura chuckled softly, surprising herself. "Was there any doubt of that?"

"I made sure that there wouldn't be. I worked hard, but it didn't seem to matter. I didn't have a high enough clearance at first to find out anything useful, so he pretty much stopped talking to me."

"Itachi, that's awful."

He shrugged, tilting his head so that she couldn't see his face. "I can't change it now. In a way, I understand. Knowledge is power."

"When did you find out about the coup?"

"I was eleven. I'm the heir, so I was expected to be at a bunch of the clan meetings. I didn't like what I was hearing so I went to the Hokage. He couldn't do anything until the clan actually acted so I ended up being his eyes and ears."

"You were just a kid, that's some really difficult stuff."

"Every clan has their issues."

She threw him an exasperated look, unsure as to why he thought that Uchiha behavior was normal. "Seriously? My parents would get mad at me for not doing the dishes, not saving the clan and sparing Konoha from civil war!"

"Dirty dishes are the worst."

She was about to retort when she finally took a good, honest look at him. Underneath his smirk, he looked exhausted. It was no wonder, given that he'd just found out that his brother had been trapped in his eyes for months. She couldn't believe that he was strong enough to have seen everything in the mangekyou and still tease her.  _He hasn't slept properly in months._

She felt her heart twinge, and she sighed. "Itachi, how long has it been since you slept for longer than a couple of hours?"

He didn't hesitate to answer. "Almost six months."

"Because of Sasuke..?" She felt her voice crack at the end of her question, and she cursed herself for sounding so timid.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Well, we both know that he would want you to make sure that you were taking care of yourself." She let her medic voice slip out, and she inwardly cringed.  _Now you're telling him what his dead brother, who for the record hated him until half an hour ago, would have wanted him to do? Sakura, you're an asshole._

She wasn't expecting him to sigh and nod. "You're right."

_Oh. Well that was unexpected. Do something; don't just sit there like an idiot!_

Clearing her throat, she stood up and walked over to where he was sitting. Settling in close to him, she motioned for him to lie down on her lap. "You can lie down; I'll check your eyes over again."

Surprised, he hesitated just long enough for her to start to feel uncomfortable. "Or not, whatever you-"

"Okay."

"Okay, good. I don't want you to get sick." She was babbling and she knew it.  _Stop talking, you're just going to embarrass yourself._

"Sakura, thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything."

For once, she didn't have anything to say. She just looked at him, taking in the dark circles under his eyes and the permanent frown line between his brows. She took in his dark, intense eyes and his pale skin. Her gaze traveled down from his dark hair to his nose, then down to his lips. The frown line on his forehead softened as they sat there in silence, and she didn't jump or pull away as he slowly leaned in towards her and closed the distance between them.

This kiss was soft and lingering.

For once, Sakura didn't think about anything but the moment. She finally let go and let herself feel. She shouldn't have been surprised that Itachi was capable of being so gentle, but she was. The little bubble of happiness returned and it just felt right.

It was only when Itachi finally pulled back that he realized that for the first time in six months he didn't feel guilty. He'd forgotten how much time he'd spent alone, aching for the family who had abandoned him, hungry for the company of someone he could trust.

It was in that moment that he realized that he wouldn't hear Sasuke's voice again, the time they'd had was all their own.

"You're welcome."

Sakura finally found her voice and was surprised that she sounded breathless. Itachi rested his forehead against hers, taking a deep breath.

"I could use some sleep, if you're still offering to take the watch."

"Oh! Yeah of course. We'll talk in the morning."

She resisted the urge to smooth back his hair as he settled down and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight, Haruno."

* * *

Fugaku shouldered the door open, annoyed by the thin film of dirt covering every surface. He hated tunnels, they were difficult to map. He wasn't claustrophobic, but there was something about being deep underground that made his skin crawl.

Spotting the promised table and chairs, he settled into the chair closest to the door. Blinking in the thin shaft of light that streamed in from above, he waited for the occupant in the dark to speak.

He didn't wait long.

"Fugaku, you have no idea how eagerly I've been waiting for your message."

"I do. It seems as though I might have something that you want."

"Oh, do tell. It turns out that pretending to be dead can leave you wanting a lot of things."

Orochimaru leaned forward into the light, his eyes glittering.

"I take it that you've heard of my eldest son."

"The wonder child, oh yes. What about him?"

The Sannin drew out each syllable, savoring every word. Inwardly, Fugaku was both disgusted and frightened of this strange man, but he hid it well.

"I propose a trade. Konoha's immunity from the Akatsuki in exchange for Itachi."


	19. Interference

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fugaku makes a dangerous mistake, piquing Orochimaru's interest in Itachi. Neji leaves Suna to rejoin Itachi and Sakura. Sakura begins to question her new dynamic with Itachi, and they continue on their mission. Neither of them could have predicted what happens next.

Orochimaru drew back into the darkness, but not before Fugaku had caught a glimpse of the greed shining in his eyes.

"Well, well, well. He's outlived his usefulness, has he?"

Fugaku didn't answer for a long moment, fighting the urge to activate his sharingan. He didn't trust the Akatsuki leader for one second, it made him very wary to be stuck in the same room as the man who had singlehandedly taken down the Third Hokage. He didn't want the thought of giving up his own sharingan to cross Orochimaru's mind. It would be too easy to kill him here, in the dark.

"It serves both of our purposes to have him out of Konoha, permanently."

"It makes no difference to me. Why now?"

Fugaku stiffened at the questioning; he was used to being the one in power. In Orochimaru's lair he was the prey, and even knowing that he had two of his men stationed outside the door brought him little comfort. "He knows too much, the entire operation is at stake. He's in bed with Tsunade's apprentice, so she also knows everything."

"So why not offer me both of them?" Orochimaru chuckled softly, and the oily sound of it sent a shiver of revulsion through Fugaku.

"If he's protective of her then you know that to get to him, you have to threaten her. She's the obvious choice. Really, Fugaku, I thought you were one of the smart ones."

Irritated, he answered sharply, "The girl means nothing, and she's insignificant. No kekkei genkai or special talent."

"Ah, you're too short-sighted. It's no wonder you haven't been able to get anything done. Anyone with chakra control good enough to perform brain surgery in a forest with no proper equipment is a serious threat to you. I suspect she knows quite a bit about the sharingan's limits as well."

"What?" Fugaku was confused, he had no idea what Orochimaru was referring to.

"Let me summarize, you're a fool."

Fugaku bristled, offended by his comment.  _How dare he, he hasn't the slightest idea of the sacrifices that I've made._

"I'll make you a deal. Get me Itachi,  _alive_. I want the Haruno girl too, if you can manage it. I'd bet that she's nearly surpassed Tsunade herself."

"Itachi's too dangerous, I can't afford for him to live." Grinding his teeth in frustration, Fugaku crossed his arms and stood up. Pacing, he shot an annoyed glance into the shadows. "I won't allow it. You can have his body."

"I expect to have the sharingan intact, of course. Playing the semantics game is just going to make me angry; I like to have my contracts clear from the beginning."

His eyes narrowing, Fugaku didn't answer. He mulled over his options for a moment, frustrated and thrown off guard by the Sannin's ability to poke holes in his wording.

He opened his mouth to reply when Orochimaru suddenly leaned back into the light, eyes feverish with excitement. "There is one more option. Give me Sasuke's body."

Fugaku's heartbeat thundered in his ears and he slammed his palms down on the table.

"No! I will not allow my son to be defiled by your experiments!"

Smirking, Orochimaru spread his arms, palms outward in a gesture of submission. "So you do have limits. I was under the impression that you were willing to do whatever it takes."

"His sacrifice was for the greater good. Don't tell me how to take back my birthright, snake. You hide here under the ground like a coward and let other, better men do your handiwork."

"And yet, here you are. Begging me for mercy." Orochimaru's tone was cold, he was no longer playful. It was in that moment that Fugaku realized that he'd made a dangerous mistake. "Get out."

"Wait, I-"

"You will take your men and go. I will leave Konoha alone for now, but I won't forget. Your debt must be paid."

Recognizing that he'd been thoroughly dismissed, Fugaku turned on his heel and left the room. He was sweating, his palms were damp and the hair on his arms was standing straight up.

_I will have to do this on my own then_.

Watching Fugaku leave with cold satisfaction, Orochimaru didn't even have to turn around to know that one of his henchmen was standing within earshot. "I want to talk to Itachi Uchiha myself, find them and bring the girl here."

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama. Immediately."

Settling more comfortably into his chair, he began to think.  _Perhaps I should consider revealing myself; I haven't had any fun in a while. Won't Tsunade be surprised._

* * *

Neji crossed his arms, deep in thought. He sat in Gaara's office, patiently transcribing a new message to the Hokage. He could hear the rustle of parchment as Shikamaru read through reports, and Gaara was tracing out a steady pattern on his office floor.

"I don't like leaving Sakura and Itachi out in the open like this," Gaara muttered, still pacing.

Shikamaru looked up from his data scrolls, sharing a concerned glance with Neji. "Neji, what're you thinking?"

Barely sparing a glance at the anxious Kazekage, Neji sighed, "I don't like it either, but Gaara was able to send men after the Uchiha tails. Between Itachi's sharingan and Sakura's strength, they'll be fine even if your shinobi don't intercept Raiton's men."

"I know that, but I'm concerned about what Fugaku's able to do in an official capacity."

"Some clarification would be helpful."

Gaara sighed, settling into his desk chair and absentmindedly toyed with a pen. "His second order of business here was to interrogate Sakura, the first thing that he tried to do was talk my council into revealing ANBU ops records."

"You've gotta be kidding me, I didn't hear that part. Who the hell does he think he is?" Shikamaru crossed his arms, his expression stormy.

"To what end?" Neji had an idea of course, but he was hoping to be proven wrong.

He wasn't.

"To check whether Itachi was actually here the night of Sasuke's death."

"Obviously that's far above his clearance level, but if he can convince enough of Konoha's administration that Itachi might have disobeyed orders and come home, an investigation will be opened."

"That's Konoha business, Gaara. It's hardly worth losing sleep over."

"If Itachi gets branded a missing nin, whether or not it's true, Sakura will go down with him. Just by association, she'll never be able to return to Konoha."

Neji gave no outward sign of his reaction, but he was suddenly struck with worry. "That puts you in an impossible position."

Gaara nodded tightly.

"Have you expressed your concerns to the Hokage?"

"I haven't. Partly because we may be speculating, and partly because I suspect that there is a spy."

"You think that Fugaku knows that Naruto was here?"

"Yes. It's helpful that the reverse summoning jutsu worked, but he was here long enough to rouse suspicion." Gaara crossed his arms, mulling over the situation with some dismay.

"With your permission, I'll follow Sakura and Itachi now. I can't ignore my gut instinct; it's telling me that they're going to need all the help they can get."

Neji was already moving towards the window, easing it open and glancing over his shoulder at the two men sitting at the desk.

Shikamaru sighed, "Give me the message, I'll add my part to it and head back to Konoha right away. Go."

"Be careful, Neji."

Neji barely nodded his goodbye before he was out the window and dropping towards the ground below. He tapped down and took off at top speed, heading for the south gate.  _I hope I'm not too late._

* * *

Itachi watched the forest, thinking.

He'd woken up just before dawn, for once feeling rested. He'd slowly eased away from Sakura, careful not to wake her. She had nodded off at some point, and surprisingly, he didn't feel like scolding her.

It was almost eerily quiet without Sasuke's whispers, and he was intensely unhappy with the small part of him that almost missed them. He felt like he could breathe again, his chakra levels were excellent and his muscles were feeling more energized than they had in months. But the absence of Sasuke was gnawing at him, reminding him of his guilt.

He had learned to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach over the years, it was inevitable that he would have to murder innocents and do unspeakable things as an ANBU operative. But no amount of training or meditation could have prepared him for the raw agony of knowing that he'd killed his own brother.

But he knew that with time he would come to terms with it. Reluctantly, he was even starting to admit to himself that he couldn't have even started to heal without Sakura's help.

Glancing over his shoulder, he watched Sakura sleep for a moment. It was unbelievable; he was shocked at himself for being so affectionate with her. They had barely known each other for ten days, but it felt like she had been in his life for years.

He had always been quick to show Sasuke affection, but he found it difficult with anyone else. Not impossible, but difficult. There was something about her that got under his skin and evoked a visceral reaction.

It wasn't entirely unpleasant the way that his heartbeat quickened when she got a fierce look in her eye, and he certainly didn't mind it when she matched wits with him. What he did mind, however, was how his ability to think clearly and logically flew out the window when it came to her.

It was difficult to be rational when he thought of all of the reasons why his father would want Sakura dead.

He couldn't blame the chakra transfer anymore; if he was being honest with himself the quickening of feelings had started before that. Itachi knew the moment that she had pulled him aside before the mission had begun that she was going to be dangerous for him. He had decided on the spot that he had to keep her at arm's length, but his resolve had crumbled quickly.

He wasn't annoyed, just resigned.  _There's no point in fighting something like this._

It was like lightening. Itachi had first realized that in Suna when they had been separated. He had thought that he might snap and interrupt her meeting with Fugaku; the consequences be damned. He knew full well that she was able to defend herself, but he didn't like knowing that she was in danger because of his family drama.

He knew what Fugaku was capable of.

Itachi didn't even know what had come over him when he'd kissed her on the lake. The way that she was talking animatedly and refusing to look him in the eye had sparked an uncontrollable reaction in him. After she had admitted that she couldn't stop thinking about him, his brain had just shut off.

All he remembered was darting forwards and capturing her mouth with his own. She had cut off mid-sentence, obviously just as shocked as he was. He had pulled away, disappointed with himself and afraid that he had misread the situation.

He was relieved that he hadn't. But it didn't make it any easier now that she was being openly affectionate, it was all that he could do to stop himself from pressing her body against his and-

He consciously halted his thoughts in their tracks and let out a long, steadying breath.

"Itachi..?"

He glanced over, taking in the sight of Sakura's sleep-clouded eyes. "Hey."

"I'm sorry, I don't remember falling asleep," she murmured sheepishly, standing up and stretching.

"You needed the sleep. The mangekyou is traumatizing at the best of times."

"Did you actually manage to get some rest?" She sounded so reproachful that he couldn't help smirking.

"I did, you can stop fussing."

"Good, it's amazing what happens when you listen to me."

She took a few moments to wake up and work the stiffness out of her body. He was right; the mangekyou really had done a number on her. She then walked over to the cave entrance where he was standing and peered out. "When did the storm let up?"

"I'm not sure. We should head out soon; I don't want to miss our interception point."

"Okay." She paused for a moment, and Itachi knew her well enough to know that she was thinking hard.

"My sharingan can't read minds, you know," he said drily, raising one eyebrow.

"I was thinking that my hair is really recognizable." She shrugged, taking a piece of said hair and holding it up for inspection. "It might be a good idea to hide it."

"You're right, it is. The clones should have your natural colour though. Can you keep pace without a hood falling back?"

"I was thinking of something a little more permanent."

His brow furrowed half from concern and half from curiosity. She closed her eyes and concentrated her chakra.

Taking a deep breath, she sent chakra to her scalp, allowing it to travel down each strand of her hair like water. Sakura concentrated even harder and in a quick burst, drove her body heat into the chakra flow. Capturing the air around her with a small chakra bubble, she focused on isolating certain molecules and  _pushed_. She heard Itachi's sharp intake of breath and knew that it was working.

She opened her eyes a moment later, inspecting her new black hair. "It'll be reversible; I just fused the outer layer of my hair with the oxygen in the air. I wasn't sure that it would actually work."

"I think I preferred it before, now you look like you could be my cousin," Itachi said ruefully, twining a dark strand around his fingers.

She blushed for a second before she thought of a retort. "That shouldn't be a problem; I hear that Uchiha men are into their cousins."

Sakura was rewarded with her first glimpse of a truly shocked Itachi. She felt a flash of triumph, and she laughed at his expression.  _Totally worth it._

She enjoyed watching him try to pull himself together for a second and then she made a point to walk right past him to their packs. She pulled out an apple and protein pack and proceeded to ignore him completely as she ate her breakfast.

_This woman is certifiably insane._

"You shouldn't say stuff like that," he murmured, finally walking away to remove his camouflage jutsu from the front of the cave. "I might take that as an invitation."

The blush that coloured her cheeks was very satisfying. He could feel her gaze on him as he sauntered away, fighting the urge to smirk at her.

_So he can flirt._

Sakura sighed, the sound a mixture of exasperation and acceptance. She was completely okay with their new normal, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was just going to get more complicated.  _What's going to happen when this is all over? Are we only feeling this way because we're feeling out of control? What about Naruto, how am I going to explain this to him? Is Itachi the kind of guy who does relationships, or would I just be some dirty little secret?_

_Once we get back to Konoha, will he want anything to do with me?_

She had a million questions, and every single one of them felt like a little splash of cold water. Averting her eyes from Itachi, she tried to think about anything else.

"Do you want to get moving?" She shouldered her pack and walked to the mouth of the cave. Itachi glanced over as he pulled the final kunai out of the cave wall.

"Yeah, we should leave a marker for Neji. He should be coming this way within the next day."

"Let me leave my chakra, it's less distinct than yours."

"Maybe to you. How're your chakra levels?"

"Uchiha chakra is like a flare, it's obvious. They're okay, lower than I'd like them to be."

He hesitated for a moment, and then made up his mind. "Take a little bit of mine."

"Itachi, I told you what Lady Chiyo said, it's dangerous."

He raised his eyebrows, "Is it as dangerous as going into battle at a disadvantage? My chakra's back to normal, you wouldn't be affecting my ability to fight."

She raised her gaze to meet his and sighed. "Okay, but this is the last time we're doing this."

The words hung in the air between them for a moment, and she didn't know if it was a lie. He didn't respond, simply untied his headband and stepped towards her.

She didn't protest as he brought up his hands to cup her face.  _Strange. A week ago I would have fought it and freaked out._

He felt like gravity, keeping her from thinking a million destructive thoughts. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears and she hoped that he couldn't hear it. They took a deep breath in unison as Itachi allowed his chakra to flow through the pressure point.

It felt like light, twisting into every cell. She could feel a wave of warmth washing through her body, easing the damage to her muscles and sparking her chakra supply. It felt like the first breath after a long period of time underwater, and her body responded immediately. Itachi found that he couldn't think, and to his surprise, he didn't want to. Their chakra twined together, and it was all he could do to control the flow and not give in to sensation.

Unconsciously, they moved closer to one another.

Breathing hard, Itachi severed the connection but didn't move. It was Sakura who slowly pulled away, bending down to pick up his headband. He hadn't realized that it had slipped from his grasp.

"Thanks." She murmured, trying to control her heart rate. Sakura was always shocked by how good Itachi's chakra felt, it wasn't a sexual feeling of euphoria exactly but she knew that her body was starting to crave it.

"You're welcome."

She laughed nervously, running a hand through her hair. "Maybe it is dangerous, just not in the way I thought."

He relaxed slightly; he knew exactly what she was talking about. "It's a last resort. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah." She took a kunai out of her pack and let a spark of her chakra travel along the metal. Satisfied that it was infused with enough chakra, she let it drop from her hand into the ground, point down. "Too much?"

"No. Neji won't miss it. Let's get going before anyone comes up from behind us."

They took off down the side of the mountain, making for the forest below. Sakura felt good, her body was energized and stronger than it had been for days. She matched Itachi's pace, content with the comfortable silence.

They darted through the trees, barely making any noise. Sakura sent out chakra bursts every fifty feet, scanning for any sign of attackers. She knew better than to let her guard down, both Fugaku and Raiton's men had easy access to them in the forest. They continued to travel through no-man's land, the trees whizzing past them at breakneck speed.

Hours passed.

Mulling over the events of the last week, she was suddenly struck with a chilling thought. "Itachi, can your father unseal ANBU records as police chief?"

"No, he would need special permission from the Hokage. Why?"

"He showed up in Suna to call Tsunade-sama's bluff, I'm wondering if he wouldn't bring it up to the administration."

"He would. I suspect he already has."

He spoke bluntly; he'd already considered this exact situation. "There would be an investigation and potentially a trial. But that's a dangerous course of action for him; I'd have the opportunity to defend myself."

"Not necessarily. What if we get branded missing nin? We took off from Suna right after I got interrogated by the chief of police. It looks bad for us, Itachi."

"We won't. The Hokage won't let that happen."

"It may not be her choice. Even Tsunade-sama could be forced into an impossible situation."

"We'll worry about that if it comes down to it; no use speculating."

With that, he'd effectively put an end to the conversation, and she returned to her thoughts.

She was right, and he knew it. He was already preparing himself for an investigation, all the while all too aware that his responses could lead to the downfall of his clan.

_There are three options. First, my father leaves me alive, which is a stupid, short-sighted move. Second, he attempts to take me down using underhanded methods. Probably using a middleman, mostly likely Raiton or Akatsuki would be the only ones who could. Third, he makes a move against me in an official capacity and calls for my execution as a traitor. That one is both the smartest and dumbest move he could make. If I expose everything, it might force Konoha to eliminate the root of the Uchiha issue. I don't know if I could live with the blood of more of my family members on my hands._

"I don't have enough solid proof to defend myself in a trial. Sakura, I don't want you to lie for me if you're put in that position." He spoke suddenly, surprising her out of her own thoughts.

She glared at him, catching him off guard. "You have the Hokage, me, Shikamaru, Neji, and the Kazekage on your side. Not to mention the ANBU generals. You're crazy if you think that's not enough."

He didn't answer for a long moment, choosing to fix his gaze on the forest in front of him.

"I just wanted to make sure that you know; I don't expect you to lie. No matter what happens between us."

She didn't reply; her expression was stonier than he'd ever seen it. Understanding that it was best to leave her alone, he focused on sending out bursts of chakra behind them, searching for Neji.

The wind shifted, and Sakura stiffened. Flaring her nostrils, she felt a shudder of revulsion. "Itachi, it smells like blood."

They tapped down on a branch, and she glanced at Itachi. "You can't smell that?"

"No, but I don't doubt it. Medics are more attuned to it."

"Itachi, it's enough blood to be a massacre. It reeks."

"How far ahead?"

"Maybe a mile."

He was already pulling on his mask, indicating that they should keep moving. "Let's go, it might be something that we need to see."

They travelled in silence for five minutes, and then Sakura felt her stomach drop. Tapping down in a clearing, she took in the carnage around them.  _I see at least fifteen bodies, but there's too much blood for that to be all of the mercenaries._

Sakura knelt down beside one of the corpses, inspecting what was left of the man's clothing.

"Itachi, they're Mist shinobi. They have to be Raiton's men."

"We were either running straight into an ambush, or someone took care of them for another reason."

"Who would get in the middle of a mercenary contract?"

"I'd like to know, but whoever it is I doubt they want to be friends."

Itachi's head snapped up, he could sense a chakra signature closing in on them, moving so fast that it was hard to track. Sakura darted a glance around, trying to identify where the attacker was coming from.

Itachi realized it a split-second before she did.

"Sakura, there's someone below-"

Itachi was interrupted as the ground was suddenly ripped open from below and a shadowy figure grabbed Sakura by the ankle.

Her shriek of surprise was cut off by the ground fusing back together, but not before Itachi caught a glimpse of an unmistakable uniform.

"Sakura! He caught a flash of the chakra signature and took off after it, moving faster than he thought he ever could. It would disappear for a few seconds, and then reappear just as suddenly. Growing increasingly frantic, he kept up, running at full-tilt.

_Orochimaru. You're supposed to be dead._


	20. Syndicate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto re-establishes contact with the nine-tails. Sakura and Itachi find themselves in an interesting (but dangerous) position, finally coming face-to-face with Orochimaru.

Sakura felt a rush of panic as she was pulled underground, only catching a glance of Itachi's mask before the ground sealed itself back up.

His panicked yell reverberating in her ears, she knew that she needed to act fast. Recovering enough from the shock to defend herself, she quickly broke three of the fingers holding her down. She felt a flash of triumph as she heard a grunt of pain and jammed her knee into the attacker's stomach. Dimly, she finally registered that she was in an underground tunnel.

Sakura then wrenched her leg out of his grasp, rearing back to deal a fatal blow with a chakra-charged fist when she felt a sharp pain in her side. Surprised, she glanced down to see a small snake sinking its fangs into her hip; it looked like it was made of smoke.  _Is that a summoning jutsu?_

Surprised, she saw black spots swim in front of her eyes.  _The venom in its fangs, the snake wasn't just a distraction. Damn it!_

Instantly, she felt her body grow numb and her kidnapper hoisted her onto his shoulders without hesitation. The spreading poison felt like ice winding its way through her veins, stunning her just long enough for the substance to do its job. Watching the tunnel whiz past her half-closed eyes, she focused her chakra.

She wasn't fast enough to counteract the toxin and she went limp, her body unable to fight the venom as it spread through her system.  _Damn it!_

She was only able to gather enough chakra to protect her heart before she lost consciousness.

* * *

Naruto looked up through the hair that had flopped over his eyes, breathing hard. Forcing his unsteady legs to move, he barely made it to an ornate bench before he sat down heavily.  _My damn body is still too weak to do anything._

His hand strayed to his damaged seal, and Naruto sighed. "I need to get back to Konoha and try to help Sakura. I can't wait for too much longer."

"Hey, you can't be so hard on yourself. You look like shit." Gamakichi remarked bluntly, take a long drag on his cigarette. "You're gonna need to rest for a bit longer before you try to make a rasengan again."

"I feel like it too."

"Naruto, maybe you should try to talk to the nine-tails now rather than later. If your body is still in this rough shape it could cause a problem. I don't know what kind of injuries he's dealing with."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"Meditate and focus all of your chakra on the seal. I'll keep an eye on ya. If anyone can pull you out if something goes wrong, it's me."

Deciding that it was best not to argue, Naruto settled into a more comfortable position. Closing his eyes, he allowed his consciousness to sink into his chakra center.

It took longer than usual, but he opened his eyes to the familiar cage that held the nine-tails. It was eerily silent, and he couldn't hear Kurama's usual breaths filling the room.

"Hey! You awake?"

There was no answer, and Naruto felt a sudden flash of concern. "Hey man, that's not funny. Where are ya?"

Stepping closer to the bars, he realized that the metal itself was corroded and gutted with small holes. Abandoning all caution, he pried two of the bars apart and vaulted into the dark.

The sight that greeted him sent him darting over in a panic to the still form of the nine-tails. No longer was he an impressive creature, but an emaciated fox. He wasn't breathing.

Thinking quickly, Naruto placed his hands on Kurama's withered chest. "Don't worry buddy, I gotcha. Just hang on until I get our chakra flowing."

_Think, Naruto! What would Sakura do? Oh! She would look for the chakra threads that got cut and weave them together. Just like how the old perv taught you to fix your jacket, sew them together._

Thinking hard, he closed his eyes and imagined his chakra merging seamlessly with the fox's chakra, creating what he envisioned to be a single piece of cloth. Under his hands, he could feel Kurama's chest start to rise and fall with panicked breaths, getting stronger by the second.

_Okay, that's good! Keep going; now think about the injuries, where did the pathways get severed? Sew them together, that's it! Sakura would take the scars and try to break them down until they aren't covering the chakra channels!_

He could feel his physical body responding to the sudden influx of mixed chakra as he pictured himself severing and absorbing the scar tissue that was bundled together across his stomach. Immediately, Kurama started to grow larger, glowing with a radiant chakra that filled the space and forced Naruto to back up, his arm shielding his eyes.

Focusing as hard as he could, he grabbed all of the chakra threads that he could envision and brought his hands together with a burst of strength. He was rewarded by a euphoric rush of chakra that engulfed him and swept through his body; his wounds washed away and he was left feeling strong and whole.

The room was engulfed in heatless orange flames; the roaring filled Naruto's ears and made it impossible to see. The light was so bright that he had to squeeze his eyes shut. A churning wind picked up, stirring his hair and pulling the chakra flow into swirling patterns on his eyelids.

Feeling triumphant, he continued to push their mingled chakra through his body, creating a circular flow that moved like a whirlpool. He centered himself and then with a final burst, fused all of the chakra pathways together.

Immediately, the room was still once again. With relief, he could hear Kurama breathing, slowly and powerfully. He never thought that he would miss the sound; just like a giant bellows.

Finally opening his eyes, he looked up into the giant irises of the full sized Kyuubi.

"Hey. You okay?" He asked tiredly, sliding down the wall to land on the ground with a thump.

_Yeah. That was pretty stupid, kid. But thanks, I wasn't doing too good before you showed up._

"What was wrong with you? I know I got cut with that weird blade and our connection was severed, but where did all of your chakra go?"

_Hell if I know, back into me I guess. But it was bad, Naruto. Sakura will probably hit the snuff out of you for doing that by yourself, you idiot._

Naruto ran a hand through his eternally fluffy hair, irritated. "What, was I supposed to let you die?"

_Nah. Just had to say it. You have to be more careful, this Raiton guy figured out how to make your body turn against me. If I hadn't turned my extra energy inwards, your human body would have died quickly._

"So you're okay now? I need your help to get me strong enough to make it back to Konoha. Sakura needs my help, and so do Neji and Itachi."

He added the last name almost as an afterthought, feeling slightly guilty that he was willing to help Itachi at all. Sakura seemed to trust him, so he couldn't be that bad of a guy.

_You made peace with Itachi? Damn, you're getting soft._

"No way! But from what I heard during their conversations he isn't that much of a dick. Doesn't mean I have to like him, but I can work with him."

_Maybe that coma did you some good. Just keep me out of it next time, would ya?_

"Yeah I'm not trying to repeat it. You sure you're going to be okay?"

_Go. Save the world or whatever. Save me a bite of Fugaku, I have a bone to pick with the Uchiha._

"You got it." Naruto saluted smartly, flashing his trademark grin.

Opening his physical eyes, Naruto noticed with some satisfaction that his body was slowing softly with orange light. "Ah yeah, it worked!"

Glancing over at Gamakichi, he grinned. "Would you look at that, I did it!"

"Naruto, you are either the best shinobi or the biggest idiot that this world has ever seen."

"Whatever, I have my chakra back. Now, let's get me back to Konoha."

* * *

Running at top-speed through the forest, Itachi skidded to a stop before a cave. The chakra signature had stopped moving, and he doubted that was a good thing. As he mulled over why the attacker would stop in such an obvious spot, it disappeared. He couldn't sense Sakura's chakra either. Warily, he edged closer to the cave, all too aware that he could sense dozens of chakra signatures underground.

_So Orochimaru hasn't stopped building his army. He's just moved underground, literally. Sakura might not have much time._

The thought of Orochimaru marking her or experimenting on her while he waited outside infuriated him and he forced himself to take a deep, calming breath.

_Don't go running in there like Naruto would. Orochimaru will want to tie me up with some kind of riddle or make a deal. Play the game long enough to get Sakura out of there._

Making up his mind, he straightened up out of his crouch and moved quickly towards the entrance. The farther that he walked into the cave, the smoother that the floor became and he could tell that it was man-made. Sensing that there was complex genjutsu at work, he concentrated and allowed the sharingan to bloom across his irises. He blinked and revealed a large, ornate stone door. The snake motif was hardly subtle, this had to be it.

Stepping towards it, he raised a hand and knocked sharply on the stone.

_Hang on, Sakura._

* * *

Sakura could hear the sound of thundering water, which confused her. Blearily, she opened her eyes. Feeling a sharp ache in the back of her head, she hissed quietly in pain as she sat up. Inspecting her body for more injuries, she was surprised to find that she wasn't restrained in any way. She checked her chakra levels and found that they were better than they had been for a while.

Surprised, she took a quick look around the room. She was laid out on a wooden table, in a room that was mostly taken up by a colossal underground waterfall and the resulting lake. She could see glimpses of daylight through the water, which lessened her anxiety somewhat.

Taking stock of the injuries on her body, she fed chakra into the bite on her hip. Immediately, her inflamed muscles and nerves began to heal. She sighed in relief as she pulled the remainder of the venom from her body, trapping it in a chakra sphere. Reabsorbing her chakra, she let the venom flow into a small vial that she pulled from her weapons pouch.  _This might come in handy later._

_I still have all of my gear, that's really weird._

Her mind flashed back to Itachi's panicked yell as she'd been pulled under the surface.  _Who would kidnap me and then leave me unharmed? Something else is going on here._

She knew that Itachi was trying to find her; she wasn't worried that he would. She was worried that he was running right into a trap.  _I have to get out of here, fast._

She was pulled out of her thoughts as a small door hidden in the wall eased open and a shadowy figure walked into the room. Immediately, she let chakra flow into her arms and legs, preparing for a fight.

"You have nothing to fear, Sakura. I simply wanted to talk to you alone before Itachi arrives."

Her brow furrowing, she was hit with a wave of confusion. "Who are you?"

"Tsunade never mentioned me? I should be offended; we were teammates for years."

Her stomach dropped as Orochimaru stepped into the light, his reptilian eyes glittering. Unconsciously, she recoiled, backing away from him towards the waterfall.

"Forgive me for snatching you away from Itachi, but I needed to find some way to get him here. You understand why I didn't reveal myself, I'm sure."

He didn't move any closer to her, but she could feel the aura of danger radiating off of his skin. Tsunade had certainly told her everything about this strange man. If that wasn't enough, she had been in the village and sent to defend Konoha's borders when he'd assassinated the Third Hokage.

She'd only been a chuunin for a year when he'd made his move. Seven years had done little to banish the fear that she felt in his presence. Fugaku Uchiha had nothing on Orochimaru's aura of power; she wasn't sure what he had planned for her. But she knew that it wasn't good.

"Come now, any apprentice of Tsunade's has got to have a little bit of fire in her, hm?"

He took a step towards her, and it took every ounce of courage that she had to stand her ground. "What do you want from me?"

"Ah, the most important question first. Very well, let's broach the subject. I have a proposition for you and Itachi, one that requires his presence."

"So why not just talk to us? Kidnapping me isn't going to get you on his good side. Or mine for that matter."

She felt her anger simmering just below the surface, and she was glad that her voice was steady. His eyes narrowed as he thought that he caught a flash of scarlet in her irises. It was gone as soon as he blinked.

He dismissed it; he had more pressing concerns than a girl who was thoroughly saturated by Uchiha chakra.

_She is involved with Itachi, it's a minor detail. Although it is interesting, to say the least._

Sakura had to send chakra throughout her entire body to keep her muscles from shaking.

"You can hardly have misread the intentions behind my gift, I mean you no harm."

"What gift?"

"I took care of the little ambush that Nawa sent to keep you busy. A thank you would be a good start."

She wasn't as shocked he thought that she would be. "So you set up your own trap."

"That makes it sound so nasty, think of it as enthusiastic invitation."

"Why would we want anything to do with you?"

She got straight to the point; she didn't like word games. She knew that if she let him talk, he might manage to either gain information from her or persuade her to inadvertently admit something important.

"Fugaku came to see me. He tried to make a trade. But I have a better idea."

Orochimaru's voice was like silk over iron, and she felt a shiver of revulsion flow down her spine. She didn't reply, knowing that he wanted her to hang onto his every word and ask him to reveal more information. Sakura knew his type, and she knew how to play him.  _Tsunade-sama said that he's arrogant and prideful; I just have to make him think that I believe everything that he says._

"He knew that you could get him what he wants."

"Not this time, flower. Oh no, this time he crossed paths with my personal business interests."

"I fail to see how I could be a part of that."

His smirk was the last thing that she wanted to see. It was oily and filled with just enough malice that she felt cold and sick at the same time.

"You will soon enough. Rest, eat your fill. Itachi shouldn't be long."

With that, he turned on his heel and swept from the room. Sakura was so shocked that she stood rooted to the spot.

_First it started in Konoha, but now Orochimaru is involved? What the hell does Fugaku want with him, and the Akatsuki?_

_I might not live long enough to find out._

She began to pace, thinking hard.

Spying the promised food on a small table on the opposite side of the room, she decided to ignore it completely. Her stomach growled in protest, but she was determined to leave it alone.

"He probably drugged it," she murmured to herself, crossing her arms as she continued to pace.

She could feel her muscles protesting as she continued to pace for what felt like hours. She knew that she was being watched, the hair on the back of her neck was standing straight up. Orochimaru was too clever and had survived too many assassination attempts to leave her alone without some sort of supervision.

Eventually, she settled into a cross legged position on the floor and tried to radiate a sense of calmness. Inwardly, the gears were turning as she devised several plans; the simplest of which was to find a way out. She would deal with Orochimaru's operation later; she needed to plan every step of the getaway first.

She discretely surveyed the waterfall, noting with some satisfaction that that was both the quickest and safest way out should she need to make a quick exit. The sunlight glittering in the water told her that the top of the waterfall couldn't be more than ten feet underground. All that she would need to do would be to get to the top and use brute force to open up a path to the surface.

Sakura didn't know how many people were working for Orochimaru, which worried her. She considered sending a slug to the Hokage, but she knew that Orochimaru would take that as an insult; it was better to bide her time until she got to the bottom of what he wanted from her and Itachi.

_He wants Itachi, first and foremost. But for what? Itachi wouldn't give up the sharingan; it's all he has left of Sasuke._

* * *

Itachi followed two of Orochimaru's disciples down into the depths of the cave system, searching for Sakura's chakra. Finally he sensed it, loud and clear.

_She's alive_.

After what felt like an eternity, he was able to relax slightly. They seemed to be walking towards it, which gave him some reassurance.

His mind whirred, taking in every detail of the hideout. There weren't many people around, but Itachi knew full well that Orochimaru had a good number of henchmen of his own. He didn't even want to think about how many people were working for the Akatsuki's interests.

_Grab Sakura and go. We can easily fight our way out of here if we need to, even Orochimaru would hesitate before going up against my sharingan._

He was pulled out of his thoughts by his guides coming to an abrupt stop outside of an unmarked door. "She's in here, Uchiha-sama."

"Open the door."

* * *

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted once again by the door opening and Itachi stepped into the room, flanked by two of Orochimaru's henchmen. Sakura stiffened, unsure if he was the product of genjutsu.

She stopped her chakra flow and was both horrified and relieved when she realized that it was really him; he was actually in the compound. Her blood ran cold as she thought about Orochimaru's plans for them both.

The door slammed, echoing through the chamber, and she took a hesitant step forward. "Itachi you have to get out of here-"

She cut off as he darted forward and cupped her face between his palms. "Are you okay? Orochimaru didn't mark you or do anything to you?"

He sounded almost frantic and Sakura could feel herself relaxing immediately into his hold. "No, he didn't. I'm okay. The guy who grabbed me knocked me out with some kind of neurotoxin but it didn't hurt me."

He didn't respond, just folded her into his arms. She held onto him tightly, afraid that something terrible was going to happen as soon as she let go. "Itachi, Orochimaru wants to talk to us-"

"What? About what?" His voice rumbled through her, and she drew back slightly to shake her head.

"I don't know, he didn't tell me. He wants to talk to us together."

"I don't like the sound of that."

Before Sakura could reply, the door swung open once again. She didn't jump this time as the Sannin swept back into the room, his cloud-patterned robes billowing. Itachi moved to put her body behind his own, staring down Orochimaru with what she could only describe as a poisonous look in his eye.

Sakura stiffened as tension filled the room, she felt like it was going to crush her.

She could feel that Itachi was as tense as a bowstring, prepared for anything.

The Akatsuki leader simply glanced at them with some amusement, settling into a large chair that was carried by one of his lackeys. Several more chairs and a table followed, and Orochimaru beckoned them closer.

He didn't seem offended when they didn't move an inch, he settled himself more comfortably as he began to speak, "Welcome to my humble abode, I trust you found your way without too much trouble, Itachi."

"Get to the point. What do you want?" His tone was dark, implying that he was in no mood to negotiate or be manipulated.

Orochimaru folded his long fingers together on the table in front of him, surveying them with glittering eyes.

"I have an offer for the two of you. I think that it is one that you would be wise to consider."

Sakura's brows furrowed and she crossed her arms. "Well that depends on what it is. You've given us no real reason to trust you."

"How quickly you forgot about what I did for you."

She bristled, angry that he was speaking to her with so much condescension. His tone suggested that he thought of her as a petulant child.

"Nawa's men would have ended up dead either way. And you sent your henchman to kidnap and drug me. We have a very different view of what a favor is."

"If I had asked politely, would either of you have come here?"

He grinned and his smile was anything but reassuring. Their silence was enough of an answer, and Orochimaru leaned back in his chair.

"I prefer it when my associates come here of their own volition, however, Fugaku has forced my hand. Time is of the essence in this particular situation."

"I'm curious as to what the offer is, go ahead." Itachi's expression didn't betray anything, but Sakura felt a flash of irritation.

_He isn't seriously thinking that Orochimaru would do this if he didn't have an ulterior motive?_

"I would like to extend an invitation to both of you."

"An invitation for what, exactly?" Sakura snapped, irritated that he wouldn't just come out and say it.

"Well, a pre-approved position within my organization, of course."

Sakura felt her mouth fall open in shock.

_What the actual fu-_

"In the Akatsuki?" Itachi was surprised, of all the things that Orochimaru could have said, he wasn't expecting that. "Why?"

"Itachi, you can't expect me to go spilling all of my secrets."

"Spilling enough of them to make a compelling case is beneficial to you." Itachi replied tightly.

"Very well, your father has a tendency to solicit my help and then turn his back on all of the hard work I've put in for him. I'm interested in collecting what's owed to me."

"You're going to have to be more specific." Itachi had a funny feeling that he knew exactly what kind of debt Orochimaru was referring to.

"Killing the Third Hokage wasn't something I did because I was bored," the Sannin drawled, chuckling darkly at the expression on Sakura's face, "What's wrong, Sakura? You never considered that I would act on someone else's behalf?"

"No, the thought never crossed my mind," she muttered through gritted teeth, reminding herself to breathe.

He laughed, apparently he found her discomfort amusing.

She knew that Tsunade would be beside herself with rage when she found out that Orochimaru had survived. It had taken far too much effort and too many wasted lives to take him down the first time.

Sakura had seen the carnage and panic first hand, having been part of the first wave of paramedics to take on the injured. "Why did you do it? Sarutobi was like a father to you."

"You exaggerate, he wasn't as important to me as he would have you believe. He held me back." Orochimaru snapped, his lip curling.

Itachi crossed his arms, still watching Orochimaru like a hawk. "I'll ask again, why did you do it?"

"Your father brought forward the idea." He shrugged, lazily inspecting his nails.

"I see. Clever, but why you?"

"I have a flair for the dramatic, as I'm sure you've noticed. Fugaku wanted Konoha on the brink of collapse; it's beyond me why he didn't make his move back then."

"Agreed."

"Seven years is a long time to wait, and I'm about to collect interest. This is where you can help me, Itachi." His oily smile made the hair on the back of Itachi's neck stand up and he had to fight to appear emotionless.

"What did he promise you?" Itachi was nervous to hear Orochimaru's reply, there were a limited number of things that he wanted. He knew that the sharingan was probably at the top of that list.

"We agreed on a carte blanche, so to speak." Orochimaru drawled, drawing back into half-shadow. It only served to make him appear more sinister, which Sakura assumed was his intention.

"So you want us in the Akatsuki, to what, piss him off?" Sakura spoke up, unable to suppress her curiosity.

"No, that just happens to be an amusing side-effect. I could use your sharingan on my side, Itachi. And Sakura, you would be invaluable as a medic; I can't seem to keep them alive."

Orochimaru added that last part as an afterthought, glancing sideways at Itachi.

Sakura suppressed another shudder, also glancing at Itachi to gauge his reaction. She couldn't read anything in his expression, which made her anxious.

"So, what do you want for payment of Fugaku's debt?" Itachi pressed, not giving up on a solid answer.

"Perhaps it will come to me, I haven't decided on the scale of the debt quite yet."

Itachi didn't like that Orochimaru was being cagey, so he decided to take the plunge and offer him something of value. "Would you be interested in my father's body if I left the sharingan intact?"

"Now that's an intriguing offer."

Itachi felt a rush of triumph; he knew that he had the Sannin right where he wanted him. His gut instinct had been right, Orochimaru wanted to study the sharingan.

"Fugaku denied me Sasuke, it seems fitting that he himself is the replacement. You're far more useful to me if you are still alive Itachi; I hope you don't take it personally."

"Answer the question. Would you take Fugaku's sharingan as payment for the Third's murder?" Itachi took a deep breath and allowed the fateful words to fall from his lips. They rang hollowly in his ears, he was all too aware of what he was selling to the devil.

"Yes. I would." Orochimaru responded so quickly that Sakura was struck by the urge to laugh.  _Oh he's too easy to read._

"Done. We'll consider your offer, but we're going to need a gesture of goodwill." Itachi continued bluntly, surprising her.

Sakura almost couldn't stop herself from stomping on Itachi's foot.  _Stop, you're going to get us killed_.

"Oh you're much better at playing the game than your father. Go on, enlighten me." Orochimaru leaned forward once again, grinning from ear to ear.

"Bring Raiton to Konoha, alive. You can live without your drug dealer, I'm sure."

"Very well, he's outlived his usefulness as it is. A sloppy businessman drags down the whole operation."

Orochimaru raised a hand dismissively; his Akatsuki ring glittering in the light. "You'll have him in two days. Send my regards to Tsunade, Sakura, dear. I expect that you won't forget the terms of our agreement, Itachi."

"Naturally. I'm a man of my word." Itachi's tone made it clear that he was done with the conversation.

"You have two weeks to consider my offer."

With that, Orochimaru stood up in one swift movement and left. Sakura didn't know what to think. All she knew was that she was shocked.


	21. Turning Point

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura and Itachi return to Konoha, unsure what to do with Orochimaru's offer. Naruto and Tsunade help them come to the most logical decision. Sakura realizes that everything is about to change, sparking a new development in her relationship with Itachi.

Darting through the trees gave Sakura time to think. Which was probably a bad idea, given that there were so many thoughts whirling through her head that she wanted to curl up in a ball and plug her ears.

She glanced at Itachi, who had such a serene expression on his face that she felt a flash of frustration. She couldn't take it anymore; she had to talk to him about what had just happened with Orochimaru.

Sakura tapped down on a tree branch, trying to compose her thoughts and emotions enough to talk to him like a rational person.

Her gut instinct told her that accepting anything from Orochimaru was a horrible idea, one that would most likely end up costing both of them their lives. She wasn't kept waiting for more than a few seconds before Itachi doubled back and tapped down beside her. "Hey, you okay?"

"No. I'm not."

He sighed, sitting down on her right. "What's bothering you the most?"

"I don't know if I can pick one specific thing."

"Okay, then run through the situation we're in and I'll pick one." He reached out and poked her in the forehead, right between her brows. "Stop frowning at me, we'll figure this out."

She just decided to be honest with him; they'd been through too much to lie to each other. "Did you know that your father was the mastermind behind the Hokage's assassination?"

He looked mildly offended, crossing his arms in thought. "No, but I can't say that I never considered the possibility. What confuses me is why he didn't do anything right after the Third's death. It would have been the perfect opportunity."

"Politically yes, but also it would be a good battle-strategy. If you don't attack immediately when a leader is taken out then you give your enemy an opportunity to regroup."

Inwardly, she cringed. Regurgitating information from the academy's textbooks wasn't exactly the best way to sound knowledgeable and mature.  _Nice going, Sakura._

"There must have been something else going on. I can't think of anything that would have stalled him."

"What if the Third knew something about the Uchiha that made him too dangerous?" She continued slowly, thinking hard. "Maybe he had something on Fugaku."

"Sakura-"

"I know that you have secrets, and that's fine. But we need to talk to Tsunade-sama and find out what stopped Fugaku the second time."

"No, I was going to say that Tsunade-sama was already being groomed for Hokage. He may have realized that it was stupid to try and go up against her without an eternal mangekyou."

"Wait, Itachi, did the Third Hokage know any of the sharingan's secrets?"

"I don't know, why?"

She felt her blood run cold, remembering an old data scroll that she'd unearthed several years ago. It was moth-eaten and crumbled away in places, but it had held one piece of information that she'd never forgotten. "Is there a chance that he knew that the sharingan is connected to the tailed beasts?"

He didn't answer immediately, but his eyes widened for a fraction of a second. "Sakura, how-"

"I found an old data scroll; I think it was at least a fifty years old. It said something about the Uchiha and Senju war, but it also mentioned something that the Uchiha were using to cause uncontrollable destruction. It didn't mention the beasts specifically, but what else could it be?"

"If that's the case, then Naruto is in danger. I need to get back to Konoha, there's a place where I can look for more information. Now that I have the eternal mangekyou-"

He paused for a moment, steeling himself for what he was about to say. "-I might be able to access some more data."

"Tell me it's not in the Uchiha district."

He didn't have to say anything more, she knew the answer. "Itachi, it's too dangerous for you to go waltzing in there."

"I can get in and out without being seen. Even if I get caught, I'm the heir who's reading about Uchiha history, it would be hard to prove anything."

She shook her head refusing to get distracted by the smirk on his lips. "You know what I'm talking about. It's a bad idea."

"Speaking of, I take it that you're going to refuse Orochimaru." His statement wasn't a question, he knew her well enough to guess without hesitation that she was vehemently opposed to Orochimaru's proposition.

"My gut is telling me to refuse, but I know that we might end up in a position where we have to leave Konoha."

He nodded, deep in thought. "If an investigation is opened, you mean."

"Yes." She answered simply; she knew that he was weighing his options. They were silent for a moment, and then Itachi sighed.

"We don't know what's going to happen, and we can't drive ourselves crazy trying to think about it from every angle. Let's head back to Konoha and talk to the Hokage before we make any decisions."

She felt a flash of guilt, knowing that Tsunade would ask Itachi about his eyes. "Itachi, there's something that I should tell you."

"If it's your message about my eyes, I know."

Shocked, she just stared at him. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears and she felt the blood rushing to her cheeks. "What..? How did you know about that?"

He chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "I know you well enough to know that you don't listen to me."

"Hey, I do when it makes sense to." She couldn't help her sassy reply, feeling both embarrassed and relieved by his reaction.  _I thought he would be mad at me._

"I would rather that we keep what happened in the mangekyou between us," he continued, folding his hands in his lap. "But the Hokage was going to realize that something was off sooner or later."

"Of course, that's private. I'll just tell her that there was a little bit of Sasuke's chakra left, she'll know that it disrupted the sharingan. No more information needed." She replied in a rush, trying not to betray just how embarrassed she was.

"Good, I'd prefer it if no one else knows the details."

"Yeah, I understand."

"But you're welcome to tell Naruto, I think he could use the closure."

Sakura felt a flash of gratitude, she understood Itachi enough now to know that letting Naruto in on their secret was a big deal for him. "He can keep it to himself, Sasuke is important to him too."

Itachi smirked, and she felt the corners of her mouth turning upwards in response. "I didn't think that was possible. He has a tendency to scream from the rooftops."

"He's grown up a lot." She sobered suddenly, thinking about Naruto's condition. "Speaking of, I need to get a message to Suna. I'm worried that something's happened to him."

"Let me. No offense, but crows move a little bit faster than slugs do."

Itachi sounded so amused that she couldn't help glancing over at him. She recognized the look in his eyes now; she could see when his guard was down. There was something about the way that his eyes shone when he laughed that made her stomach flip.

She suppressed the urge to reach over and kiss him, playing with her hands instead. "Yeah, of course. Can you send one to Neji and Tsunade-sama too?"

"Now what're you worrying about? You're frowning again." He signed a quick summoning jutsu as he spoke, hands flying with such speed that she couldn't keep track.

She waited until he'd given directions to three pitch-black crows before she spoke.

"You didn't tell me what you're planning to do with Orochimaru's offer," Sakura said slowly, trying to broach the subject with as little judgement in her tone as she could muster. The crows took off in a flurry of pitch-black feathers, and they watched them fly away in silence.

He didn't answer for a moment, his expression so neutral that it took all of her willpower not to press him for a reply.

"I haven't decided yet. I can see all sides of the argument, but frankly I have a gut feeling that I can't stay in Konoha," he murmured quietly, choosing his words very carefully.

"Because of your father."

"He's the most pressing concern at the moment. Let's get going. I don't think anyone would dare attack given Orochimaru's interest in us, but I don't like being out in the open like this."

He changed the subject very deliberately, and she sighed. "Itachi, whatever you choose, I understand."

"I know."

She nodded and allowed him to help her up. Brushing the wood shards off of her shorts, she glanced up to see him watching her with an enigmatic look in his eye.

"What?"

"You could leave with me."

She was taken aback, unsure of how to reply. He turned away, and she didn't miss the sudden tension that was in his shoulders. He continued, crossing his arms. "Just think about it."

"Okay," Sakura answered finally, torn between wanting to promise him that she would go and not abandoning Konoha.

He still wouldn't look at her, and she felt a flash of guilt.

_Am I stalling because I actually don't know what is waiting for us in Konoha, or is it because I don't know what we are?_

"Let's go."

* * *

Neji was moving quickly, spurred on by the chakra-laced shuriken that Itachi had dropped for him. His path had been unimpeded; he hadn't had to defend himself once. He'd passed the Suna shinobi who'd been sent to take care of any tails, but they had reported very little activity. Just some suspicious shinobi who had disappeared a few miles north of a cave. Gaara's assault squad had taken off to investigate, and Neji had diverted to follow Sakura's, and then Itachi's chakra trail.

He had continued on, driven by his concern for his teammates.

He'd been surprised by the bloody ambush that he'd passed through, however it seemed that Sakura and Itachi had dispatched the attackers with cold efficiency. It had taken monstrous strength to inflict the wounds that he could see on the bodies. However, it wasn't like them to leave the corpses out in the open, exposed to the elements.

What had concerned him even more was the way that Itachi's path had become rather erratic, criss-crossing across swaths of the forest, not unlike the writhing, undulating patterns of a giant snake.

He stopped abruptly when he heard the sound of soft wings. Glancing upwards, he was surprised to see a large crow drifting towards him. Automatically, he put out his arm, the crow settling onto it with little hesitation. It opened its mouth and Neji raised an eyebrow in surprise as Itachi's voice echoed outwards.

"Neji, Sakura and I were taken on a detour. We're heading back to Konoha to speak with the Hokage. Meet us there."

"Noted." He spoke softly, trying not to startle the messenger crow. It croaked indignantly and took off, flying towards the sunset. He watched it for a moment, then sighed and changed directions.

_Konoha it is._

* * *

Sakura and Itachi darted towards Konoha's borders, senses alert and weapons loosened in their holsters. Spying the gates, Sakura slowed down slightly and took a deep, steadying breath.

"Haruno?"

Itachi glanced over his shoulder, an open expression of concern flitting over his face.

"We should go in separately. The gates are being watched. I'll go through the main ones and you should put your mask on."

"I was about to suggest that. I'm going over the south wall." He replied, settling it over his face. "Be careful, I'll meet you at the Hokage's tower."

"Itachi."

"Hm?"

"Don't get caught." She murmured, squeezing his hand as she brushed past him. She didn't even need to see his face to know that he was smirking at her. His hand briefly returned the pressure and then he was gone.

Bracing herself for trouble, she darted through the gates. She was counting on her disguise to remain incognito; black hair and a combat vest weren't even close to her typical attire.

Sakura made for the tower, easing her way through the crowds. Her timing couldn't have been better, it was a Friday night and the village was bustling with activity.

She made it to the tower with little difficulty, trying her hardest to look like a shinobi returning from any old mission. She ascended the stairs quickly, barely sparing a glance at the civilians that she passed. Finally turning the corner, she almost ran straight into Naruto.

Sakura's mouth hung open in shock, and she only recovered enough to throw her arms around him.

"Huh? Sakura? What happened to your hair?"

"Naruto! You're okay! What happened? Oh my god how did you wake up?!" She drew back slightly, taking in the sight of him, apparently whole and healthy.

She was so happy to see him that she couldn't help the tears that streamed down her face. He grinned and shrugged, his hair flopping vigorously. "Well, first the Sages got me out of limbo and then I talked to good old Kurama!"

" _You did what?!_  Naruto, are you telling me that you fixed your pathways yourself?!" She was beside herself with shock, unsure whether she should be proud or fearful. She settled on mostly fearful.

"Hah, yeah!" He chuckled, finally realizing that it was a bad idea to admit that particular fact. He regarded her fearfully, hands already raised to deflect any blows that she chose to direct his way.

She resisted the urge to slap him upside the head, reminding herself just in time that he had survived an eight day coma.

Suddenly, the wind went out of her sails and she shrugged her shoulders in defeat. "Okay, I am proud of you, but promise me that you're not going to do something stupid like that again."

"As stupid as draining your chakra to save me?" She looked up at him, surprised by his tone. He didn't sound angry, just resigned.

"That's different, Naruto! I'm okay, I had Itachi's help-" She cut off, a blush colouring her cheeks as his expression darkened.

"I know."

"You what?" She was surprised once again, then extremely embarrassed.  _If he heard us talking then he might know about the chakra transfer. He wouldn't suspect anything, would he?_

"I heard some of what you guys talked about," he muttered, running a hand over his hair. "I should probably thank him or something."

"You can do that later. Naruto, we need to talk to Tsunade-sama, right now. There's so much that she needs to know."

She changed the subject hurriedly, ignoring his stormy expression. He nodded, leading her across the floor to the impressive office doors.

Sakura felt a wave of relief wash through her, finally feeling somewhat safe now that she was close to the Hokage.

Pushing open the doors, Naruto on her heels, she grinned broadly at her mentor.

"Naruto, I wasn't-" The Hokage cut off mid-sentence, shocked to see Sakura standing there.

Tsunade jumped to her feet, rushing across the room to sweep her into a bone-crushing hug. She drew back almost immediately, embarrassed to be showing so much open affection for her student.

"Sakura, I didn't know that you were back already! Where are Itachi and Neji? "

"Here, Hokage-sama. Neji is returning to the village now." Itachi's deep voice rumbled from behind his mask as he eased in through the window.

Tsunade turned, one eyebrow raised as she surveyed Itachi. "I have a strict "no windows" policy, Itachi."

"Tsunade-sama, he has good reason to avoid being spotted." Sakura interjected, bracing her palms on a chair.

"What the hell happened to you guys out there?" Tsunade crossed her arms, a dark expression on her beautiful features.

Sakura and Itachi shared a glance, neither of them answering immediately. Itachi took a deep breath and settled into the window nook. "We were attacked almost immediately after we left the village. The shinobi ended up being a contract mercenary from the Land of Water. A mist shinobi, he had a lightening brand on his foot. We assumed that he was working for Raiton."

"I know all of this." Tsunade grumbled, pacing, "You'd better have something new to tell me."

"After the mist shinobi blew himself up, we got going towards the first interception point," Sakura continued, sharing yet another meaningful glance with Itachi.

"That's when we got attacked a second time. Naruto got stabbed by that strange blade and the fox almost took hold of him. Itachi was able to use his sharingan to pull his mind out of his body. Naruto told me that Shisui was dead, and then he passed out."

Naruto shivered, his hand straying to his stomach. "Yeah, that hurt worse than anything I've ever dealt with. Sakura's chakra was just evaporating; Kurama couldn't control the output of his chakra anymore so it kind of exploded out into me."

"Okay, so what aren't you telling me?" Tsunade stopped pacing, her lips pursed. Sakura knew that she had to tell her about Orochimaru, but she wanted to wait for the right moment.

Itachi sighed, running a hand over his headband. "We realized several things after Naruto was down. Firstly, Sakura couldn't keep up the chakra flow necessary for his survival. I gave her some of mine; we knew that her reserves were a last resort."

Sakura heard Tsunade's sharp intake of breath and almost flinched.  _Oh I'm going to get such a lecture later._

"I'll talk to you later, Sakura." Tsunade pointed an accusing finger at her, and Sakura felt her stomach drop. "Keep talking, Itachi. I have a bone to pick with you too."

"Secondly, I found that something was off about my sharingan. I was…hearing voices and having reoccurring dreams about Sasuke's death," he said bluntly, staring at his hands.

"Sakura figured out that there was some of Sasuke's chakra in my retina. My sharingan activating was enough to trigger a weak genjutsu that manifested as a vengeful Sasuke."

Tsunade looked pained, closing her eyes briefly. "I should have been more thorough. Itachi, please accept my apologies. You wouldn't have suffered that if I had taken the time to check."

He shook his head, a tiny smile playing across his lips. "Please, don't be. It allowed me to have some closure. You could say that Sasuke and I finally talked."

Naruto was oddly silent, staring at Itachi with a cryptic expression on his face.  _Wait, that's almost respect. He's seeing Itachi in a new light now._

"So you got Naruto to Suna. What happened when Fugaku showed up?" Tsunade resumed her pacing, making Sakura more anxious by the second.

"He interrogated Sakura." Itachi replied simply, raising an eyebrow for Sakura to continue.

She took a deep breath. "Yeah, he tried to get me to say that Sasuke's last words were to name his murderer. Itachi, specifically."

Tsunade's expression could have melted glass. She stopped pacing, and stood with her back to them. Every muscle in her body was taut; she was struggling to keep her temper in check. "He called my bluff, the bastard."

"Sakura managed to convince him that she didn't know anything, but it wasn't enough. He knew that I was in Suna as well, so he staged a search of Sakura's room."

His tone darkened, and Sakura could see the raw frustration in his dark eyes. "I didn't realize that we were being herded out of Suna by my father. We decided to go after Raiton alone, and that's when everything took an unexpected turn."

He trailed off meaningfully, and Sakura steeled herself for what she was about to say. "Tsunade-sama, we know who created the blade that almost killed Naruto. Raiton got it from his employer."

Whirling, Tsunade frowned. She threw herself into her office chair, crossing her arms. "I doubt that I'm going to like what you're about to tell me."

"Tsunade-sama, Orochimaru is alive." Sakura felt the words leave her mouth in a rush, trying to get them out before she lost her nerve.

" _What?!_ " Tsunade leapt to her feet and in one smooth move, decimated her desk. Sakura darted over to the window, out of the way of the flying papers and sake cups. She barely noticed that she was now beside Itachi; she was so intent on dodging the wood shards that flew everywhere.

"I should have known that no good snake bastard would have found some way to cheat death!" Tsunade bellowed, her fury causing the room to shake.

Naruto yelped, covering his face with his hands as the dust settled and Tsunade managed to reign in her anger.

"How in the hell do you know that?!" She demanded; her shaking hands braced on the opposite windowsill. "Spit it out!"

Itachi spoke up, nodding almost imperceptibly at Sakura. "Orochimaru sent one of his henchmen to take Sakura. I went after her. His intention was to get us somewhere where he could talk to us both."

"Take?!  _As in kidnap_?! About what?!" Tsunade's tone was dangerous, and Sakura could feel the hair on the back of her neck standing up.

"My father tried to trade my sharingan for Konoha, apparently. What we didn't know is that Fugaku was the one who solicited Orochimaru's help with assassinating the Third Hokage."

"Fugaku did  _what?!_ "

"Fugaku never paid that debt." Itachi replied calmly, crossing his arms and inclining his head towards Sakura. "I'm going to take that on. As a result, Orochimaru offered us a place in the Akatsuki."

Naruto shot to his feet, pointing an accusing finger at Itachi. "Why the hell would he do that?! You're full of shit, Orochimaru wouldn't help anybody!"

"Apparently he will for a sharingan. I promised him Fugaku's."

"Why would you-"

Tsunade cut off as the realization suddenly dawned on her. "You didn't promise him Shisui's sharingan. You're going to give Orochimaru the one that's useless."

"Yes. My plan was to transplant the old eyes back into his body and then turn him over to Orochimaru."

Tsunade's shoulders were shaking, and Sakura was sure that she was about to start destroying her bookshelves. A second later, she realized that Tsunade was laughing hysterically.

_Oh shit. This is not a good reaction._

Tsunade finally took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Brilliant, Itachi. So, Fugaku paid for Sarutobi's death."

"Apparently."

"Is there anything that man won't do for power?" Her question was rhetorical, but Itachi wasn't finished.

"Anything except strike when Konoha appeared to be at its weakest point."

"That's now, Itachi." Tsunade passed a hand over her face, the shadow making her look ancient. "I've had Kakashi sending out feelers; it doesn't look good. I'm being pressured to open up the ANBU mission records by my council. Frankly, you couldn't have come home at a worse time."

Itachi's expression was pensive, and he raised one eyebrow as he spoke.

"This is going to sound insane, but it might be a good idea for me to take Orochimaru's offer. In name only." He added, glancing sideways to gauge Naruto's reaction.

Sakura's heartbeat thundered in her ears, and she willed herself to take a deep breath. "He may be right. You can't afford to be the subject of an investigation, Tsunade-sensei. You'll have to pretend that Itachi tricked you into thinking that he was in Suna, or else you tell everyone about Fugaku's plan."

"It's too early for that, he hasn't revealed his plan yet," Tsunade sighed, finally turning to face them, "Itachi, I can't ask you to risk your life like this."

He laughed softly, but there was no amusement in his tone. "My life is forfeit if I stay here. Frankly, my chances are better with Orochimaru. I can get into his libraries, find out if there's a way to take Fugaku down without a war."

Naruto finally spoke, having been uncharacteristically silent for the last few moments. "Hey, he's right. You can't protect both him and Sakura and deal with the political stuff at the same time. Itachi can take care of himself."

Sakura didn't miss the small glance that the two shinobi shared, feeling somewhat triumphant that they were finally, albeit grudgingly, working together.

"Fine. Itachi, you have my permission to leave the village. However, I have one thing that I want you to do."

"Yes?" He asked cautiously, watching as a feverish glint began to shine in her eye.

"Your mission is to get Orochimaru somewhere where I can take care of him myself, once and for all. I'll seal his soul so deep that he can never reanimate himself." She growled; her expression fiercer than Sakura had ever seen it.

"Understood, I'll wait for your message."

"We need to take down Fugaku from the inside; I won't allow Konoha to crumble into chaos. Find out what you can and I'll send Sakura to join you if it isn't safe for her here."

"Tsunade-sama, you can't mean..?" Sakura's brow furrowed in surprise. "You want me to join the Akatsuki..?"

"Yes. You're going to join Itachi the second that there's any danger from Fugaku. Naruto will help me keep things under control while you're gone."

"Why me?" Naruto grumbled, scuffing his toe on the ground. "I could kill Orochimaru with my left hand, why do I gotta stay behind?"

"If you're going to be Hokage, you'd better figure out a way to restore peace to your damn village." Tsunade snapped, pointing a stern finger at the scowling shinobi. "If I need your help to kill him, you've gotta be there to help, idiot."

"Oh. Right." He deflated, settling back into his chair.

"Itachi," Tsunade continued smoothly, "you'll leave in the morning. Tell Orochimaru whatever you need to. I can't stall the council much longer, things will escalate quickly. Is there anything that you need to do before you leave?"

"Yes. There's some information that could prove useful in the Uchiha compound. We suspect that Fugaku plans to use his sharingan to create a weapon."

"What kind of weapon?" Tsunade raised an eyebrow, suddenly very wary.

Sakura spoke up, nodding at Itachi that she should continue. "Something that's as powerful as a tailed beast, at least. Itachi and I aren't sure if it's the tailed beasts or something else that I saw referenced in the old scrolls down in archive five."

"Sakura, we're not supposed to read those!" Naruto's eyes were wide, and the look he threw towards Tsunade was decidedly guilty. "I wasn't with her."

"Which scroll?" Tsunade pursed her lips, deep in thought. "I can easily have those brought up. If there's something in there that can give us a clue as to what Fugaku's planning I'll break every secrecy protocol in the book."

"Seventh room on the left, shelf eight, row H. It's in the top left hand corner of the shelving unit." Sakura answered carefully, trying to remember exactly what it looked like. "It has a blue ribbon around it, I think."

"I'll get it myself." Tsunade sighed, looking around at the wreckage of her desk. "Itachi, you'd better get going. Uchiha compound empties out about this time of night. Sakura, get some rest. I'll send for you in the morning."

"I can help you look-"

"No. You three have been through enough over the last two weeks. Rest, there will be plenty to do tomorrow."

* * *

Sakura didn't even jump when she heard a gentle tap on her window. She knew that it was Itachi. Padding over to the curtains in her socked feet, she eased them open and slid the window up. He dropped into the room soundlessly, taking in every detail.

"Did I wake you?" He murmured, removing his new ANBU mask and setting in on the windowsill as she closed and locked the window.

"Not at all, I knew you would probably stop by," she replied quietly, drawing the curtains closed and turning on the bedside lamp.

Trying to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach, she turned and sat on her bed, resting her chin on her hands. "Did you find anything?"

"Yeah. You were right, there's a strong connection between my clan and the tailed beasts. I couldn't find out much, the information is pretty vague. There's too much room for ambiguity." He trailed off thoughtfully, sitting on the bed beside her.

"Do you know where you could find out more?" She asked cautiously, all too aware that he had just snuck around the Uchiha complex at night. Probably for the first time in years.  _That can't have been easy for him._

"I do. Orochimaru's got to have something."

"Itachi, I hope you know what you're getting yourself into," she muttered, playing with a loose thread on her sleeve.

"You and me both," he replied quietly.

She couldn't look him in the eye; her courage was too fragile to bear looking into his intense expression. "The Akatsuki is no joke; you can't come back once you join."

"Sakura, I can't see another way."

"No, it's okay, really. It's what you have to do to keep Konoha safe." She could feel her voice trembling, and she cursed herself for sounding so rattled.

"Would it make you feel better if it were to keep you safe?" His voice sounded slightly ragged, and she turned in surprise.

"Itachi-"

"I can't keep you safe if I'm near you, my father will use that as proof to take you down with me. I can't research anything that's classified as top secret or forbidden if I'm under investigation. Orochimaru has all of those texts, I would bet money on it."

"You don't need to explain, Itachi. I understand. But if you get yourself killed I'm never going to forgive you," she teased, trying to lighten the conversation. She didn't feel like she was going to cry, which surprised her.

Itachi reached forward and brushed her bangs out of her eyes. "Good. I'd expect nothing less."

She smiled sadly, leaning into his palm as it moved to gently cup her cheek. "I won't. I promise you that."

He laughed softly, and she was suddenly struck with the realization that she may never see him again once the morning came.

"Stay with me tonight."

She felt the words leave her mouth before any of her inhibitions kicked in.

"Are you sure?" His brow furrowed, and his eyes searched her face for any sign of hesitation. He found none.

"Yes," she said firmly, sweeping her hair behind her ear and trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.

_Stop freaking out; you're not a kid anymore! It's not like you've never had feelings for someone!_

_They've never been like him though._

She saw him hesitate for a second, and it was just long enough for her mind to start spinning and a blush to cover her cheeks.  _Oh no, no, no I shouldn't have said anything, he's-_

Her thoughts cut off abruptly as his lips gently brushed across her own, and her breath caught in her throat. He kissed her as gently as he could, fighting the urge to press every inch of his body against hers. Reluctantly, he pulled away slightly after a moment, and she slowly raised her eyes to meet his.

"Sakura, there's no rush." He murmured her name, sending a shiver down her spine. But she couldn't look away.

It was the intense look in his eyes that made up her mind. She knew deep down that he wanted her as badly as she wanted him, and that confirmation filled her with a boldness she didn't know she possessed. "I don't want to wait any longer."

Reaching up to cradle his face, she gently drew him towards her. He responded instantly, sliding his hands into her hair as their breathing quickened and the kiss deepened.

For the first time in six months, Sakura truly couldn't think. All she could do was feel, feel Itachi's skin underneath her fingertips, and the taste of him on her mouth. His hands sliding down her body electrified her nerve endings, leaving her burning. They clashed together again, and again, their kisses intensifying until they were nothing short of desperate, and Itachi could only focus on her.

She was getting used to the way that Itachi had first slanted his mouth over hers, softly and without any urgency. Nothing could have prepared her for the way that he kissed her now. There was something primal and deeply possessive about the way that he took control and made it impossible for her to form a coherent thought.

She felt like she couldn't breathe as their kisses became more urgent, and Itachi's hands burned up her back to pull her closer. She shifted her weight so that they were pressed together and finally broke the kiss to breathe.

They hesitated only for a split second before twining together once again, losing themselves in the moment. Itachi suddenly shifted, surprising her. Moving quickly with no visible effort, he laid her down, moving over her to kiss the sensitive skin behind her ear.

Sakura shivered as he slowly marked his way down her throat, and her breath hitched as Itachi's teeth grazed her collarbone. She had completely forgotten why she was so afraid, all she could register was the warmth of his body pressed against hers.

"Tell me to stop if you want me to." Itachi murmured against her skin, his voice rumbling though her body. She felt a rush of anticipation as he kissed the side of her jaw, slowly making his way back to her lips. "Tell me now if you don't want this."

She opened her eyes, marveling at the sight of him balanced on top of her. She should have been shocked to find herself in such a compromising position, but in that moment she didn't care. "I don't want you to stop, quit trying to talk me out of this."

She laughed softly as his eyebrows raised and he smirked, his eyes twinkling. "You're always surprising me, aren't you?"

"I'm not going to stop doing that, ever," she replied, slowly and deliberately.

His smile widened, and before he could say anything more, she arched upwards and caught his lips with hers. He didn't hesitate, instead he slid his warm hands up her back to press her closer.

His hair felt like silk under her fingertips as she tangled her hands in it, pressing his lips more firmly against hers. Suddenly feeling bold, she gently bit his lower lip and felt a rush of triumph when he made a soft sound of approval and shifted so that they were completely pressed together.

He ran a hand over her hip, sliding her skirt up her leg, and she gasped into his mouth as his hand grazed her inner thigh. He broke their kiss and drew back slightly, taking in the sight of her mussed hair and kiss-swollen lips.

"I'm going to miss arguing with you," he murmured, brushing her hair off of her forehead. They were both breathing hard, and Sakura let her head fall back onto the pillow.

Her stomach fluttering, she placed a chaste kiss on his nose. "I will too, which kind of freaks me out."

"What are you afraid of?" He murmured; his eyes were dark and intense as he looked at her.

"Us." She admitted, breaking eye contact to stare at the ceiling. "What's happening between us is terrifying to me."

"What do you mean?" She refused to look at him, so she missed the flash of confusion and alarm that clouded over his eyes.

"I don't know; it's all so confusing."

"It's confusing because it matters to you." There was an unspoken question on his statement, and she suddenly realized that he was probably as nervous as she was.

"Of course it does." She fell silent, her hand slowly tracing circles on his shoulders. Her fingers traced along his ANBU tattoo, and she felt his muscles tense up slightly as her fingers grazed over an old scar.

"Good. I was starting to think that you were just using me for my chakra," he couldn't help the smirk that curled over his lips. She rolled her eyes and suppressed an indignant huff.

"Our whole world is crumbling around us, Itachi. Not that your attempts at flirting aren't a good thing, but we're not exactly choosing a good time to explore this."

His smirk grew into a knowing smile and he twined a strand of her hair around his long fingers. "There will never be a good time. I want to be here, otherwise I wouldn't be. You think too much."

She sighed, knowing deep down that he was right.

"My crows will keep an eye on things," he continued, trailing his calloused hand up her hip, smirking as she shivered. "They'll let me know what you're up to."

He punctuated every word with a kiss, working his way up the smooth skin of her neck. She chuckled, surprising him. It turned into a full-belly laugh and it only got worse when she took in his bemused expression.

"What?"

"If you were anyone else, I would find that super creepy. You're ruining the moment."

He tried to stifle a grin, but seeing her laugh made it futile. "Well that's the last time I try to say something romantic."

"That was supposed to be romantic? Oh man, you really don't know how to talk to a girl."

He groaned, the sound of it rumbling through her. "You're choosing now to complain?"

She blushed suddenly, pulling down her shirt. His eyes glinting with mirth, he leaned forwards to kiss her again. She lost herself in it, noticing how much effort it took for him to hold himself back.

Finally, he pulled back, looking at her very directly. "No more objections?"

"One night of being reckless isn't going to hurt anything."

"I'm never reckless."

"Stop talking, Itachi." She sounded disgruntled, thoroughly riled up and annoyed that he was ruining the moment.

He smirked and leaned down to lazily kiss her neck, sliding his body upwards until it was flush against hers. Sakura couldn't help the soft sigh that left her lips, and she tangled her hands in his silky hair.

 _One night will have to be enough for now_.

* * *

Itachi opened his eyes to the first light of dawn seeping into Sakura's room through the gauzy curtains. He didn't rush to move, just savoured his last few moments of normalcy before he left Konoha behind; perhaps forever. He took a moment to watch Sakura sleep, debating whether or not to wake her.

He decided against it, moving slowly and carefully so that he didn't disturb her. He gently removed his right arm from beneath her head and eased his left arm off of her waist. Adjusting the blanket to cover her, he quickly got dressed.

He hesitated before tying on his headband, somehow the familiar metal felt as if it weighed a hundred pounds in his hands. He sighed, and making a decision that could haunt him, placed it on Sakura's nightstand. The metal glinted in the light, making a soft clink as he set it down.

He was leaving to join the Akatsuki, but he would rather die before he betrayed Konoha. Orochimaru would have to accept that he was joining on his own terms.  _I'll have to trust that the Hokage can clear my name_.

Easing over to the window, he slid it open and tapped down on the roof outside.

* * *

**_A/N: Hello everyone! Thank you so much for reading and sticking around for so long! Now, I didn't include the details of Sakura and Itachi sleeping together in this chapter because I didn't feel that it fits the story (also, I'm not sure that I could do it justice). However, I'm certainly not against publishing the whole thing as an alternate version/one shot if there is interest. Let me know what you think! :)_ **


	22. No Man's Land

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura waits anxiously for her fate. It's only a matter of time before Fugaku makes his move against her. She gets her affairs in order, connecting with Tsunade, Kakashi, and Naruto before it's too late. The reappearance of an old friend changes everything.  
> The end of Part One.

_Sakura knew that she was dreaming. The kind of dream that made her heartbeat double and a cold sweat break out on her brow. The kind of dream that made her question what was real, filled with sudden realizations and uncomfortable truths. She hated those dreams; she always woke up weeping._

_It wasn't the red sky, or the quiet sound of wind chimes that clued her in, it was Sasuke. She watched him for a moment, taking in the sight of him training. She had always been transfixed by the way that he moved in combat. It was like a dance, the way that he wove and spun, always exactly where he needed to be in order to strike his opponent the hardest._

_He moved so quickly sometimes that Sakura could have sworn that he was able to phase through almost anything. Kakashi had taught him to use his speed and lithe strength to his advantage; no matter the opponent._

_He didn't appear to notice her, and so she settled in on a tree stump to watch, knowing full well that when he was ready he would talk to her._

_She wasn't kept waiting long._

_"Sakura, you need to be careful," he called, holding his hand over his brow to shade his eyes from the sun. "You're getting mixed up in Uchiha secrets. My clan has killed people for knowing far less than you do."_

_"I know." She ran a hand through her hair, wondering how exactly she had managed to put herself in the middle of a political time bomb. "What do you suggest?"_

_"Itachi can use Orochimaru for information, but you need to find out what my father is planning. He doesn't suspect that you can play him, not after what happened in Suna. Use his arrogance to your advantage."_

_"How, Sasuke?" She sighed, dropping to the ground and walking over to him. "I don't know what questions to ask."_

_"You don't need to ask any, accuse him instead. If you do it right, he'll tell you everything that you need to know."_

_"Why are you helping me?" She whispered, unsure if Sasuke really had come to terms with the circumstances of his death._

_"Hm. You could say that I'm not quite ready to leave," he replied easily, shrugging. "I wasn't there for you and Naruto, so I'm making up for it now."_

_"How, Sasuke?" She gestured helplessly, indicating the training ground around them. "This isn't real. As soon as I wake up, you'll be gone again."_

_He smirked, turning to stride away. "You always jump to conclusions. I never said that I was gone."_

_"What does that mean, Sasuke?" She replied, annoyed._

_His chuckle resounded through the trees, but he was already out of sight. "Figure it out."_

* * *

Sakura stretched lazily, turning over to avoid the light streaming through her open curtains. Reaching out reflexively, she realized that she was alone. Itachi was gone. She had fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder, and she wasn't even surprised that he had managed to leave without waking her.

She stared at the empty pillow for a moment, suddenly feeling cold. Drawing the blanket up to her chest, she sighed.  _So it begins._

Sakura wasn't sure whether or not she should be annoyed that Itachi had already left, but she knew deep down that he was bad with goodbyes. She drew the blanket over her head and tried to think of anything else. It was a useless effort, her mind was already spinning. If Itachi was any other man, she would have immediately assumed that he'd snuck out for selfish reasons. That wasn't the case, and she knew it.

_What would I have done? It wouldn't change anything if I asked him to stay; we're still going to be separated. This way, it's more or less under our control._

Reluctantly, she stood up and walked to the shower. She wasn't ready to face the storm that was brewing in Konoha, and it certainly didn't make it easier now that Itachi was gone.

Sakura hadn't realized how seamlessly that he had blended into her life over the last fortnight. She was used to his presence, quietly reassuring her. She shivered, a tiny bit of anxiety weaving itself into her thoughts.

_Now I'm in the village without him, with Fugaku on the offensive._

Turning the water as hot as it would go, she stepped under the stream. A rush of memories assaulted her, and she laughed quietly.  _Who knew that Itachi could be so affectionate?_

She felt like her blush reached down to her toes, and she took a deep, calming breath. She couldn't help the tiny bubble of nervous anticipation in her chest, she was already thinking about when they would see each other again.  _It could be months_.

It was with some regret that she lathered soap on her skin. She knew that it was just in her head, but she felt almost like she was washing away the memory if Itachi's skin against hers.

Sakura sighed, tilting her head back to rinse the shampoo out of her hair. The water ran down her back, mirroring the path of Itachi's hands as they had skimmed down her spine. Her mind flashed once again to the night before, and she felt a jolt of heat rush down her body. Trying to snap out of it, she hurriedly turned the water to cold.

She didn't have time to get all gushy and emotional, there was too much at stake. Sakura knew that she had to wait until it was safe before she let herself get all twisted up about her relationship with Itachi.  _Well, not a relationship exactly. We didn't discuss it, so I guess we're just a "thing"._

She huffed impatiently and turned the water off. She was already thinking about what to tell Naruto about her experience in the mangekyou. Sakura was dreading his reaction, partly because it was hard to talk about, and partly because she was worried that Naruto would just have another reason to dislike Itachi.  _I should be so angry to hear that Sasuke was trapped for months, but I also know that there was no way that Itachi could have known what was going on._

She stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a towel. Blow drying her hair gave her something to do for a moment; she didn't want to let her mind wander back to Itachi.

Yawning hugely (after all she didn't get much sleep), she stepped out of the bathroom and moved to grab fresh clothes from the dresser.

Glancing at the clock on her nightstand, she froze.

Itachi's headband glittered in the light, folded neatly on the edge. She found herself reaching out to pick it up, running her fingers over the rivets and tiny scratches on the surface. His only physical connection to the village, and he'd left it with her.

Her heart fluttered, and she reached up to put it on. It settled on the top of her head, a comforting weight that instantly centered and calmed her. Closing her eyes, she concentrated her chakra and allowed the oxygen in her hair to diffuse. The disguise melted away like ice, puffing into the air and disappearing with the steam drifting out from the bathroom.

Inspecting the return of her pink hair, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her eye drew immediately to a dark bruise on her throat and she blushed deeply. Slapping her hand on her neck, she healed it, thoroughly embarrassed.

She didn't feel like explaining to Naruto why she was walking around with a hickey on her neck, although she doubted that his first guess would be that Itachi put it there. It was better that no one knew what was going on between them, Fugaku was already breathing down their necks. Sakura knew that he wouldn't hesitate to hurt her if it meant that he gained the upper hand against Itachi.

_Don't give him that chance, Sakura._

Hurriedly getting dressed, she ate a protein bar and grabbed her medical bag.

Sighing, she adjusted Itachi's headband one last time and stepped out of her apartment into the street. Walking along with the molasses-slow pace of the crowd, she marvelled at how normal everything seemed to be. No one walking past her was aware of the impending danger. Glancing at the taller buildings as she passed, she could still see the faint lines of repair work, the souvenirs from Orochimaru's assault on the village.

She was so busy thinking that she didn't notice the large crow lazily riding on the air currents a hundred feet above her. It flapped its wings rapidly, diving to rest on a streetlight.

It caught the attention of an Uchiha policeman standing at attention on a rooftop nearby. He narrowed his eyes, sharingan flaring to life. The crow was gone before he blinked, and he swore quietly, shaking his head.

Spotting a flash of pink hair in the street below, he darted off the rooftop, heading towards the Uchiha district.

Completely oblivious to the fact that she'd been marked, Sakura was deep in thought, stuck on what dream Sasuke had told her. There was something about the dream that had seemed oddly similar to the mangekyou. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she knew that Sasuke's cryptic message was important.

Inspecting her chakra streams, she noted with satisfaction that she was running at full capacity. There was something slightly different about the way that her chakra wove around her system, but she chalked it up to the fact that she had been essentially jumpstarted four times; once by Lady Chiyo, and three times by Itachi. It wasn't a concern that her system was a little off; it would take time to get back to normal.

Meandering up the stairs to the hospital entrance, she caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned, and saw Shizune waving her over to another entrance. Darting to the side, she followed her fellow apprentice into the laboratory portion of the hospital.

"Shizune, what's going on?" Sakura was tensed, ready for anything. Shizune smiled, pointing towards the poison synthesis lab. "Nothing big, Tsunade-sama wants to go over some things with you before you start back at work."

"Thanks. By the way, did she tell you that I performed a successful full brain decompression and aneurism mend?"

"You didn't! How did you deal with the oxygen flow?"

"Easy. Reversed the chakra flow and manually pumped it in through the air. His cognitive processes were completely preserved. But then he blew himself up," she said mournfully, shaking her head.

"Show me that sometime. I'll be in the office all day, but if you want to practice your neonatal skills, I'll be in the intensive unit later."

"I will. By the way, how is she?" Sakura glanced over her shoulder, catching a glance of Tsunade's hair as she bustled around the testing facility.

"Stressed, as I'm sure you know. She had to release the ANBU case files last night, but there's going to be a little bit of time as they get processed."

"How much time does Itachi have before he's declared a rogue-nin?" Sakura felt a shiver of anxiety, calculating how much time she had left in Konoha. "I may have to leave as soon as possible."

"A couple of days at most. I'm sorry, Sakura."

"Don't be. It's inevitable, as long as you guys know that I'm innocent." She flashed a small smile, trying not to worry.

"Anyone who matters knows that. We'll keep Konoha safe."

"Thank you, this'll be over before we know it!" Hoping fervently that she sounded more cheerful than she felt, she turned and walked through the frosted doors, steeling herself for the difficult conversation ahead.

Tsunade turned when she heard the door open, she had been buttoning up her lab coat. "Sakura, it's good that you're here. Did you manage to get some rest?"

Trying to arrange her features into an expression that was the opposite of embarrassed, she nodded. "I slept enough."

"When did Itachi leave?"

"I'm not sure; he was gone before I woke up." She realized what she'd said a split second too late, and she clapped a hand over her mouth.

Tsunade's answering grin made her want to curl up in a hole and die. "I knew that something was going on between you two."

"Tsunade-sama, it's-"

Tsunade laughed, looking through a microscope at the sample in her petri dish. "I don't need to know the details. I thought you two would eventually become friends, but apparently you bypassed that entirely."

Sakura didn't have anything to say, fully aware of the blush that was spreading over her face. Tsunade threw her a knowing look and gestured for her to sit down. "Let's get down to business, then. Shizune told you that I released the files last night?"

Sakura was grateful for the subject change. "Yeah, what can I expect?"

"Nothing good, I'm afraid. The files confirm Fugaku's accusation that Itachi was not in Suna that night. I have no choice but to act like he had me fooled. You will be caught in the line of fire; you operated on Sasuke and you were also present when Itachi was in the Hokage tower. I need to know what you're going to say, we can't afford to have different stories."

"I'll just tell them what happened when Sasuke was here. I reported to you in the tower after Sasuke was gone."

She shrugged, settling into the chair beside Tsunade's work station. Talking about Sasuke's death was much easier now that she knew that he was free. It wasn't ever going to be something that she could detach herself from, but knowing that she was working to avenge him helped with the guilt and pain. She just hoped that Itachi had come to terms with it.

"Good. Naruto and Kakashi have already confirmed that they are going to say the same thing. The hospital cameras confirm the timing of their arrival. However, I have to come up with a good lie. It's Fugaku's word against mine, and normally I wouldn't be worried, but Konoha's in bad shape. Itachi's going to get branded missing within the next few hours. Be prepared for anything."

"What about our allies?"

"Nara, Akamichi, Yamanaka, Aburame, and the Inuzuka have all proven their loyalty, so I'm not worried about them. But some of the smaller clans have gotten rather cozy with the Uchiha lately."

"How many?"

"Five."

"That's odd. What's in it for them if Fugaku takes over?"

"Political power mostly, they're newer clans. So there's less loyalty to the bureaucracy."

"Any kekkei genkai?"

"Only the sharingan to worry about for now. But I'm concerned that the leaders of the Hyuuga clan may see this as an opportunity."

"Neji will nip that right in the bud, Hinata won't let anything happen. She's incredibly loyal to the Hokage."

"But she hasn't got her father's favor. Perhaps Kakashi can talk to Hanabi, she respects him."

"That can be dealt with later; I'm concerned about the investigation first and foremost. Have we considered every possible angle?" Sakura sighed, noticing the dark circles under Tsunade's eyes.

"Perhaps there is another strategy here." Tsunade trailed off thoughtfully, her brow furrowed in concentration. "There is one more possibility that I hadn't considered before."

"That you talked to Itachi's "clone" about the transferral of Sasuke's sharingan right after his death?" Sakura mused, tapping her chin with one finger.

Tsunade grinned wolfishly, satisfied that she and Sakura were on the same page.

"Yes. That'll put a lot of pressure on Fugaku to come up with a good story for why one of his sons was killed by the other. It's a very risky play, but it might be bold enough to work."

"It's dangerous. Unless you're ready to tell the council about what's going on within the Uchiha, it's too risky. It'll open up the question of how you knew that Sasuke's eyes could be taken. It makes it look like you and Itachi were working together to get them."

She suppressed a shudder, knowing all too well that Fugaku's plan had only failed because Sasuke had clued in.  _Even when he was bleeding out, he knew that his father wasn't his best chance for survival. I wonder what else he knew._

"Shit. Maybe you're right. I can't stand the thought of Fugaku getting what he wants." She stood up abruptly and began to pace. "So much of the important information is considered forbidden; I can't just pull out the documents that will ensure Fugaku's arrest."

"How long would it take to pull out and sift through the redacted Uchiha coup case files?"

"Days, possibly even weeks. We don't have that long, Fugaku's obviously trying to take the administration down the legal way first. So I think it's safe to assume that Orochimaru didn't agree to his terms."

"Pull Itachi's ANBU reports from the beginning maybe? Fugaku can't do anything about old reports."

"I wasn't privy to the investigation; we're left with the same issue. I can withstand an accusation of favouritism, but I can't pardon myself against a charge of being an accomplice to murder. The only thing I can think of would be to find some way to reveal the sharingan transfer, make that public."

"Kakashi could help," Sakura mused, thinking aloud.

"I can't ask him to do that. Maybe it would be better to attack Fugaku head on, keep him so busy that he can't come up with a solid plan."

Sakura watched her, breathing a sigh before answering.

"I want to reveal everything too, believe me. But Fugaku could just come back and say that Itachi wanted to kill Sasuke because he was jealous." Sakura ran her hands through her hair, frustrated. "We're stuck between a rock and a hard place."

"This is why I didn't want to be Hokage in the first place," Tsunade growled, bringing her hands down on the table with a bang. "Give me a battle any day, this political bullshit is what's going to kill me."

"Tsunade-sama, I've already thought this over. There's a way to slow down Fugaku's scheming, maybe for good."

"Go on, I'm intrigued."

"Itachi and I talked about it last night," she hurriedly glossed over that particular piece of information, trying to ignore the wicked glint in Tsunade's eye at the mention of Itachi.

"Both of us leaving the village could actually be the one thing that can stop Fugaku's coup attempt. You'll still have to attack him politically, but anything drastic could be out of the cards."

"How so?"

"With at least three rogue-nin of S-class rank from Konoha in the Akatsuki, logic dictates that we would turn our eye to a weakened Konoha. If he attempts to take over the position of Hokage it creates an unstable environment. It's the perfect opportunity for the Akatsuki to attack."

"Interesting. You have a good point there, but what if he thinks that he's got Orochimaru on his side?"

"Then Itachi and I have to make it clear that we've got Orochimaru's favor," Sakura replied bluntly, folding her hands on the table in front of her. "We might have to stage a show of force, just enough to show Fugaku that we're serious."

"You're playing a dangerous game, Sakura. I'll have to retaliate."

"That's fine. You can use that opportunity to take down Orochimaru. It'll be easy to persuade him that attacking Konoha is in his best interest, but Naruto's not going to like it."

"He's not going to like any of this. What are you thinking?"

"If I'm right and Fugaku's trying to figure out a way to use Naruto as a weapon, then we just need to get Orochimaru to threaten him. Naruto is the perfect cover, and I bet Orochimaru will be just intrigued enough to let us do it."

"Ah. You're referring to when he sent Sasori of the Red Sand to try and take Gaara. You want to convince my chancellors that he's after the tailed beasts again." Tsunade's eyes shone, she was thrilled with the idea.

"So the administration will be forced to protect him as part of Konoha's assets. That might just make Fugaku so mad that he'll explode."

Tsunade chuckled darkly, shaking her head. "He'll be so heavily guarded that even the entire police force couldn't get close to him. Naruto's going to be hard to convince, but it might work."

"I need to talk to him anyways. It might be better if I explained it to him. He'll understand what's at stake."

Tsunade snorted, settling back into her chair. "Good luck with that. You need to keep a low profile; it's just a matter of time until Fugaku could arrest you."

Sakura took a deep, steadying breath. "That's not going to be possible, I'm probably marked already. I'm just going to have to go out with a bang."

Tsunade shook her head, surveying her student. Sakura didn't miss the flash of pride in her eyes. "You're going to end up in the bingo book before Itachi does. I sure hope you know what you're doing, kid."

"I think so. I have a plan to break the Akatsuki down from the inside too; I didn't mention this to Itachi."

"I'm all ears."

Sakura sighed, and launched into her plan.

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura knocked on the unfamiliar apartment door. She was nervous for several reasons, mostly because she'd never been to his home before.

The door creaked open; she'd obviously woken him up. "I'm so sorry to disturb you-"

"Not at all. Come in," he murmured, walking into his kitchen and raising an eyebrow when she hesitated. "You look like you have something to talk to me about."

"You could say that," she replied, easing herself onto one of his kitchen stools. "I have a couple of favors to ask."

He sighed, scratching his head. "You want me to look after Naruto, right?"

"Yes and no. I can't tell you what, but something might happen that forces Naruto to have an ANBU escort team. Can you get on that team?"

"Sakura, you can't be serious."

"I have never been more serious in my life. I don't trust anyone outside of you, Tsunade-sama, Shizune, and my classmates. Can you do it?"

He sighed again, crossing his arms. "I swore that I'd never rejoin ANBU, but I'll talk to the Hokage. There are a few people who I can trust, if I can't get on the team then I'll make sure that they do."

"Thank you, Kakashi-sensei." She nearly sagged with relief. It felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. He watched her carefully for a moment before speaking.

"What's the second favor?"

She hesitated for a second, then reached up and untied Itachi's headband. "Itachi left this with me. I need mine, but I want to leave this somewhere safe. Can you hide this outside the village?"

"Yeah, how about in the clearing by the bridge?"

"That's perfect. I don't know when I'm going to get arrested, but it's inevitable." She sighed, running a hand through her newly freed hair and pulling her own headband out of her pack. She tied it on, fully aware of Kakashi's weighty gaze.

"You're going to cut your ties with the village." It wasn't a question, and she looked up to see respect shining in his visible eye. "Are you sure that this is a good idea?"

She laughed quietly, shaking her head. "It's a horrible idea. But I'm finding out that this whole thing goes far deeper than just the Uchiha. Itachi and I think that Fugaku's trying to gain control of a tailed beast."

"Sakura-"

"I know, I know. I won't tell you any more than that. But if it comes down to it please make sure that the right ears hear those words, if you don't mind."

She smiled, looking like the picture of innocence.

"Y'know, if anyone had told me ten years ago that you would end up in a position to either save or destroy Konoha I would have laughed. I've never been so happy to be wrong; you've grown up into an impressive kunoichi." He chuckled darkly, surveying her over his mask.

She grinned, flapping her hand at him. "I'm just in the right place at the wrong time. Naruto and Tsunade-sama will be doing the heavy lifting."

"Just be careful. Naruto wouldn't want you to put yourself in any unnecessary danger," he muttered, walking over to his fridge to stare at the old photo of team seven stuck to the door.

"Itachi either," he added, glancing over his shoulder at her.

She watched him for a moment, struck with the memory of the photograph being taken. "They both understand. Sasuke isn't going to avenge himself."

Kakashi turned, surprised. Her tone had gone from light to menacing in a matter of milliseconds, and he realized then just how serious she was. He felt a flicker of unease.

"No, I suppose he isn't," he replied calmly.

He'd never seen this side of her. She was vengeful, angry.

Taking a deep breath, she reigned in her emotions and tried to radiate calmness. "Thank you. I'll do my best to make sure that your effort is worth it."

"Sakura, do me a favor."

"Yeah?"

"Make Fugaku suffer." His tone was cheerful, but there was a quiet malice underneath his words that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

She nodded. Standing up, she shot one last glance at her former teacher. He lazily saluted her, a mischievous expression lighting up the visible side of his face. Smirking, she left.

* * *

Pushing the Ichiraku Ramen awning aside, Sakura settled into a chair beside Naruto. Slurping up a huge helping of noodles, he grinned at her. "You're paying for lunch."

Sakura groaned and accepted a steaming bowl of soup from the shop owner, murmuring her thanks. "You're going to die if you don't eat a vegetable from time to time."

"I'm fine! I didn't eat for eight days, so I'm making up for it now!"

Sakura chuckled, taking a moment to eat. It truly felt like she was home, after all, she and Naruto had been eating ramen together for a decade. She quickly finished her meal, a knot of anxiety forming in her stomach.

"Do you need to talk to me about something?" Naruto asked around a mouthful of noodles. She grinned and nodded, flinging a napkin at him. "Yeah, we should head to the training grounds as soon as you're done."

He grinned, wiping his mouth. "I'm good for now, let's go."

Sakura rolled her eyes and pulled out her wallet. Naruto chuckled sheepishly at the way that her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the bill. Handing over the money, she could feel Naruto's eyes on her, and she knew that he was staring at the new scar on her shoulder. She was grateful when he didn't say anything about it.

Ducking past him and out onto the street, she took in the busy street. They walked together in comfortable silence.

But Sakura couldn't stop thinking about Fugaku.  _Why hasn't he come after me yet? It's not like I've been hiding the fact that I'm here_.  _The suspense is killing me. I don't know how much more of this I can take._

It felt different; the Konoha of her childhood was gone. So was the easygoing pace of a Saturday afternoon, they both knew of the darkness swirling underneath Konoha's idyllic surface. In this case, change wasn't a good thing.

Sakura could feel a new tension in the air, and her eyes darted around as they walked.

Naruto knew that she was watching for Uchiha members. He didn't doubt that Fugaku knew that they had returned, things were about to get serious; it was just a matter of time.

Lost in thought, Naruto could also sense something different about Sakura's chakra, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Finally reaching the training grounds, they settled onto the grass. Sakura couldn't sense anyone's chakra, and once she confirmed with Naruto that he wasn't detecting anything either, she relaxed slightly.

"Naruto, you know when Itachi mentioned that Sasuke's chakra was still in his eyes?" She began carefully, staring at her feet.

"Yeah. He was under some kind of genjutsu?"

"The mangekyou was working against him, reflecting the effects on his chakra," she elaborated, playing with a loose threat on her sandal. "There's something else that he didn't mention. We decided that you should know about it."

He didn't say anything, just looked at her. Unsteadily, she took a deep breath, "I entered the mangekyou and talked to Sasuke."

Naruto's sharp intake of breath didn't surprise her, and she slowly met his eye. "What did he say?"

"Not a whole lot at first. Itachi kept me from the torture of the mangekyou, and I ran for a while until I found him. He started out as a child, just crying alone."

She couldn't look at Naruto; she knew that his eyes would be shimmering with tears. She eased her way into the story, trying not to miss a single detail. Naruto was unusually silent, nodding at her to continue when she paused to gauge his reaction. She felt surprisingly calm, and she was grateful that Naruto seemed to be taking it well.

He listened to the full story, and then he sighed, "So you're telling me that Sasuke died again."

She felt a tiny flicker of panic, frightened that he had only heard the parts of the story that would fuel his grudge against Itachi.

"No, Naruto. He's free," she corrected, hoping fervently that he would understand that Sasuke could rest in peace now.

Naruto crossed his arms, and she finally snuck a peek at him. He was pensive, his face more neutral than she'd ever seen it. "So he's not trapped anymore."

"No."

"I never thought I would say this," he sighed and stood up, brushing the grass off of his pants, "but if he can forgive Itachi, maybe I should too. Is he still here?"

Sakura felt a flash of pride.  _When did he become so mature_?

"No, he left early. I'm not sure when." She avoided looking at him; it was bad enough that Tsunade knew about their relationship. She couldn't stand the thought of Naruto feeling betrayed. "Naruto, there's one more thing that Tsunade-sama and I want to talk to you about."

He glanced over, his eyebrow raised. "Yeah?"

"How would you feel if we led Orochimaru here and let you and Tsunade-sama take him down?"

She didn't miss the glint of excitement in his eyes. "Whaddya thinking?"

"We think that Fugaku might not actually do anything if he's concerned that the Akatsuki will attack Konoha."

"Well yeah, I would be too. Not that I couldn't defend Konoha, but it would be a bad idea if they were on the move. They've been quiet for so long that I think we should be worried."

"Exactly. If Fugaku thinks that you're the key to winning his fight, then we need to stage a show of force," she trailed off meaningfully, shooting Naruto a smirk that would rival one of Itachi's.

Naruto's eyes widened. "You want to make it look like I'm the Akatsuki's target."

His expression darkened, and he looked so much like a sad puppy that Sakura almost laughed. "And that means that I'm gonna have a bunch of ANBU bodyguards all the time, right?"

Sakura smirked. "Fugaku won't be able to touch you. He can't move for fear of an Akatsuki attack, and he can't get close to you without sparking a major attack from ANBU."

"Those guys creep me the hell out." He shuddered for dramatic effect, making an exaggerated wheezing sound for emphasis.

"If you're going to be Hokage, you'd better get used to having them around," she said lightly, clambering to her feet. "Ask for Kakashi-sensei to be on the team. He already said that he would try to pull some strings."

His somber expression gave her pause, and she almost shivered at the intensity in his gaze. He sat down beside her with a sigh, looking off into the distance.

"Sakura. Be careful. I know that you and Itachi leaving the village isn't real, but the Akatsuki will kill you if they find out what you're up to."

"I know." She gestured helplessly, finally crossing her arms. "If that's the case, then so be it."

"Orochimaru didn't care that you killed Sasori?"

"He didn't mention anything," she sighed, finally allowing her bubble of anxiety to wash over her. "I'm worried that the other members are going to target me for it."

"I doubt it. They don't strike me as a friendly bunch." He replied, hugging his knees.

"That's what I'm worried about."

"You can downplay it though, if you have to. Tell them that the old lady did it, you just healed us."

"It might be better for me to fess up; if I don't establish that I'm strong it'll make me a target. I can't afford to be seen as weak."

"They're not playground bullies, Sakura!"

"I know that! They're a million times worse."

"Just be careful." She noticed that there was a tiny tremor in his tone, and she reached out to squeeze his hand reassuringly.

"I will. You know that I'm going to have to act like a totally different person to survive this, right? If we run into each other you're going to have to attack me. You can't hold back, otherwise it might blow our cover."

"I know," Naruto sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Y'know, it would really suck if none of my friends were here when I celebrate my inauguration. So you'd better not do anything stupid."

Shocked, she just stared at him for a second. Then, coming to her senses, she punched his arm. "Hey! You don't get to lecture me about being stupid!"

"Ow! Watch it; I'm barely out of a coma!"

"Shut up! I kept you alive, dumbass!"

Sakura laughed as Naruto shot into the trees, cackling. "What's it like being the dumb one for once?"

"Get back here!"

She followed him into the trees, losing herself in the comforting dance that was sparring. She didn't have to think about anything but beating Naruto for a few moments, and it brought her relief.

They fought and parried for an hour, finally stopping when Naruto announced that he was exhausted. "I think I need a little time, my body's still too damn weak for you to go hitting it with that monster strength of yours," he panted, his hand straying to his stomach.

She laughed, trying to memorize exactly how she felt in that moment. In a matter of days, perhaps even hours, she was going to have to leave Konoha. She didn't know if she would ever be able to come back.

She felt a stab of melancholy, aware that these happy moments might not be a part of her life anymore. Naruto and the rest of her friends would be bound by the laws of Konoha to attack and subdue her if they met again, and that thought was more difficult to take than anything else.

"Naruto, no matter what happens, I want you to know that I'll protect Konoha with my life," Sakura said quietly, hauling him to his feet.

"I know. It's going to suck having you gone, but you've got an important mission," he cocked his head to the side and flashed his trademark grin. She smiled back, feeling the telltale prickling of tears behind her eyes. He noticed, of course, and despite her protests he drew her into a crushing hug. She resisted for a second, and then wrapped her arms around him.

"Don't be an idiot while I'm gone," she muttered, her voice muffled by his jacket.

He chuckled, his breath rustling her hair. "I'm not the one who's hanging out with homicidal maniacs."

"Naruto, Itachi is not a homicidal maniac," she huffed, trying not to smile as she untangled herself and stepped away.

Naruto looked surprised for a second, and then he grinned again. "I was talking about Orochimaru."

"Oh."

"Man, it's like you're obsessed with Itachi."

"I am not!"

"Oh, you'd better not have a crush on him! First Sasuke, then his brother?!"

"Shut up, Naruto!"

He stuck his tongue out at her, reminding her of when they were children. Suddenly remembering something important, she flapped her hand at him. "Oh yeah! Orochimaru's promised to deliver Raiton here tomorrow."

He raised his eyebrows, stopping mid-stride to stare at her. "You think he's going to make good on that?"

She sighed, "I don't know. But can you and Neji handle the interrogation? You can get that seal out of him, and until I prove otherwise I won't be able to communicate with you once I reach Orochimaru's hideout. It's the best chance you've got to figure out what the Akatsuki are up to."

"We'll take care of him. Better keep him out of range of the Uchiha, they'll freak if they knew that Raiton was in our custody."

"Keep it off the record. And Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"Make him pay for what he's done." Sakura was slightly shocked at herself when she heard the venom in her tone, but she was placated when she realised that Naruto had the same intense look in his eyes.

"Bet on it," he growled, his fists clenching.

She was about to reply, but she cut off, feeling sick.

Sakura's stomach plummeted into her feet as she felt dozens of chakra signatures close in on them.

"Naruto, it's happening! Tell Tsunade-sama-"

She was interrupted by Uchiha clansmen streaming into the clearing, all wearing the official police uniform. She didn't resist as her arms were wrenched behind her back and ice-cold cuffs were anchored around her wrists.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled, resisting the attempts of the policemen to keep him away from her.

"No, Naruto! Don't resist!" She yelled, watching helplessly as his expression turned to one of pure hopelessness.  _Don't give them a reason to arrest you too!_

"Haruno Sakura, you are under arrest for the murder of Sasuke Uchiha," a gruff voice stated calmly, yanking her to her feet and propelling her forwards. She felt the telltale pinch of pressure point activation and crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"Sakura!" Naruto yelled throatily, watching in horror as she was hauled away.

_Get to the old lady!_

* * *

When Sakura came to, she was blind. She bit down a rush of panic as she realized that there was a blindfold over her eyes.  _A blindfold? Why would they need to do that if I'm in the station?_

_I'm not in the station. I'm somewhere else._

Her blood ran cold, but she was abruptly pulled from her thoughts as she was slammed down into a metal chair.

Sakura didn't resist as she felt her arms tied tightly behind her back and the blindfold was roughly removed. Blinking in the sudden light, she wasn't even surprised to look into the pitch-black eyes of Fugaku Uchiha.

She refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her afraid, so she met his gaze with an expression as neutral as she could muster. Her stomach jumped slightly in fear, but she stubbornly matched his furious glare with one of her own.

It was a game of chicken, and Fugaku looked away first.

"Do you like the restraints?" He asked, almost casually.

Sakura felt the first flicker of rage inside her chest; she'd already tried to test them for weaknesses and had found that her chakra was sealed away. It was an impressive interrogation technique that was usually saved for the worst kind of shinobi criminals.

The kind of criminals who ended up with their faces splashed all over the bingo book.

She said nothing.

"Don't even try to get out of those cuffs; they've been calibrated to your chakra signature. You can't break them, even if you could get enough chakra together."

He chuckled, sure that he'd managed to defeat her.

"So," he began, clasping his hands behind his back and stepping behind her. "You know why you are here, don't you?"

Sakura didn't breathe a word, just stared straight ahead. She sensed a tiny chakra flare behind her, and she knew that he was already annoyed with her lack of a reaction.

"You almost had me fooled in Suna. To think that I had you pegged as a foolish little girl, I won't be making that mistake again."

No reaction.

"If you hadn't run straight to Itachi I would have believed your little act. I was convinced that Tsunade had chosen herself a ditz for an apprentice."

She almost laughed, and he must have caught a glint of mirth in her eyes. He straightened his back and took a deep breath.

"There are two things that should concern you," Fugaku murmured, and she could hear the slight undertone of barely suppressed rage in his voice.

"Firstly, you are currently being charged with first degree murder," he continued, pacing around the small room like a lion in its cage. "I am seeking the death penalty, as I'm sure you can understand."

She fought to remain calm, inwardly she was seething.

"Secondly," he continued, stepping in front of her so that she would have no choice but to look at him. "You are also to be charged with consorting with S-class criminals, evasion of a police warrant, impeding a police investigation, and conspiring to commit treason."

She had to strain against her restraints to keep from trembling with rage. It took every fibre of her being to remain outwardly unaffected.  _Channel Itachi, stay calm._

She simply looked at him, radiating stillness. She watched as a vein began to pulse in his forehead, and his face flooded with colour as the blood rushed upwards.

His unruffled façade cracking, Fugaku slammed his palms on the metal table. Sakura reflexively flinched, frustrated that her body had betrayed a flicker of weakness.

"You almost ruined everything," he spat, breathing hard as his anger got the best of him. Suddenly reminded of what Sasuke had said in her dream, she had an idea.

She couldn't keep her mouth shut any longer.

"You forgot tampering with a body."

"I-what?"

She laughed quietly, "Did I stutter?"

"You won't get away with anything, you little bitch," he hissed, his eyes filling with a madness that reminded her of Orochimaru. "I'll bury you so deep in charges that your family will never recover from the shame of such a daughter."

"Careful, Fugaku," her tone was icier than she'd ever heard it. He paused for a second; obviously unsure of what she was going to say next.

"I wouldn't want anyone to think that you couldn't take care of a kunoichi from an insignificant family. Your family would never recover from the shame of having such a leader. You forget that I outrank you."

His eyes flooded with the blood-red of the sharingan, and she finally looked away.

"I should kill you," he growled, his voice so filled with malice that she felt the hair on her arms stand up.

"Go on then," she taunted, barely hanging onto her courage. "How many men did it take to kill Shisui? Do you need to call reinforcements for a little girl?"

She had him then, as his temper flared and he almost lost his composure. "I didn't need any help, and now the most powerful sharingan user of this generation has gifted me his eyes," he spat, starting to pace once more.

"Gifted? Is that what you call it?" Sakura was incredulous; she couldn't help the words that poured out of her mouth. "You killed your wife, your son, and then your nephew, for what? So that you can stand in a room and threaten me? Is that what it means to be powerful?!"

Her head snapped back as he whirled around, backhanding her in one smooth motion. She was still for a moment, assessing the damage to her mouth. She spat out a small mouthful of blood, glaring at him with all of the hostility that she could muster.

"What? Aren't you scared that you can't control the nine-tails?"

_"What?"_

"You heard me."

"How did you-"

"Even if you could, Naruto and Kurama will  _never_ let you use them to destroy Konoha."

"You meddling, little-"

"You forgot annoying," she drawled, growing increasingly more triumphant as he lost his temper.

He clenched his jaw, and she could see that he was losing control. "Enough games, this ends now."

She felt her blood thundering in her ears as he activated his mangekyou. Sakura watched the swirling pinwheel with a mixture of fear and fascination. Quickly looking away, she felt her survival instincts kick in. Her adrenaline began to sing through her veins, and she felt something strange happen the second that he roughly grabbed her chin to force her to look at him.

Her chakra, something was happening to her chakra.

_What the hell..?_

She stared defiantly at him, trying not to betray that something was happening to her body.

He sent a pulse of chakra through his eyes and waited for her to start screaming as the mangekyou took effect.

Nothing happened.

Furious, he tried again.  _These damn eyes!_

Her chakra nature shifted.

She could feel a tingling that felt just like lightening spreading through her system, and Fugaku recoiled.

_"If something happens to your eyes you should be worried."_

"How-how do you have those eyes?!" He stammered, apparently frozen in place.

Her eyes weren't green anymore. Her irises looked as if they had cracked, and interspersed through the shattered green were fragments of scarlet, coupled with three lazily spinning tomoe.

Sasuke's sharingan.

_"You always jump to conclusions. I never said that I was gone."_

She gasped as chakra began to bloom out of her eyes and form the shape of a man, not unlike a ghost.

Sasuke's chakra was wrapped around her like a silhouette, and he glared at his father, who was still standing dumbstruck by the table.

_"Did you miss me, father?"_ His voice sounded far away, almost as if he was speaking through a glass bottle.

Sakura bit back a sob of relief and she felt her arms surging with an abundance of strength as Sasuke's chakra flooded through her from a spot on her forehead.

The spot where he'd poked her and left a smear of blood in the mangekyou.

She felt her newly freed hands moving of their own accord, as Sasuke's chakra cloud bloomed around her like a shield.

_Ox. Rabbit. Monkey . Dragon. Rat. Bird. Ox. Snake. Dog. Tiger. Monkey-_

_Wait, it can't be?! Lightening release?!_

A keening filled the air, and she fought back the urge to laugh. Sasuke's chidori bloomed from her right hand, and she stood up, merging with Sasuke's chakra cloud. Her body was moving on instinct, and she let go of her control. With Sasuke's chakra urging her on, she lunged towards Fugaku, her arm raised for a death blow.

She was surprised by the appearance of an Uchiha clansman in front of her. She hadn't heard the door open; she was so dumbstruck by Sasuke's appearance.

Her fist collided with the man, the chidori ripping through him with no effort. She hissed in pain as her hand was cut in several places by the shattering rib bones, but powered forwards. Sakura wasn't fast enough to reach Fugaku before he fled. They shook the corpse off of their hand in disgust, and it took all of Sakura's control not to slump to the ground in shock.

_"Coward!"_ Sasuke bellowed, his rage causing them to slam their fist down on the table in frustration.

Sakura stood there for a second, trying to process what had just happened. "Sasuke, how are you here?"

_"I sealed what was left of my chakra into your forehead, obviously."_

"What? How?"

_"I'll explain later. You need to move, now!"_

Darting a glance around at the room, she noticed that there was only one door.  _There's going to be reinforcements coming in any second, I need to find another way out._

_"Sakura, you're taking too long. Go!"_

Thinking quickly, she gathered her newly freed chakra into her right hand and legs and launched herself upwards.

She burst out of the ground, causing an explosion that hurtled large rocks into several of the buildings in the Uchiha district. Sasuke was guiding her movements, so she had no trouble darting out of the complex. She could hear the thundering of dozens of booted feet behind her, but she kept moving.

Dodging attacks was suddenly easy; she could see a shadow of each man, striking a split second before he did. It hurt her eyes to use what she assumed to be a weaker version of the sharingan, but knowing that she had the power to alter time and predict what her opponent was going to do was intoxicating.

She could almost forget the pain as she dodged and whirled, fighting in perfect unison with Sasuke.

_"Don't worry about fighting them, they can't do anything if you get out of Konoha. Go left."_

Sakura moved so fast that the buildings blurred, Sasuke keeping pace.

She was too shocked to ask any questions, just let him guide her out of the village. Suddenly struck with an idea, she turned around and whipped off her headband.

_"What are you doing?!"_

"Sasuke, just shut up and trust me!"

She stood outside the gates of Konoha just long enough for the policemen to catch up with her, Fugaku leading the charge. Slowly, she deliberately dragged her kunai through the middle of her headband, marring the mark of Konoha.

Fugaku paused, clearly taking caution. Smirking, she tied the damaged headband back on and disappeared into the forest. She was still close enough to hear Fugaku's scream of rage, and she grinned. Sasuke was quiet, darting along beside her as she made her way to the bridge.

Just as she'd hoped, Kakashi had tied Itachi's headband to the far support beam of the bridge. She sighed in relief, tucking it into her pack.

_"Ah. I see. So that's why you had to stop."_

"Sasuke, thank you for saving me. But you're going to have to explain how your chakra is so strong, it doesn't make any sense."

_"Later. You need to get somewhere where my father can't touch you first."_

"Fine. But you're telling me. You're not allowed to shut me out again."

" _Hn,"_  he muttered, the chakra flowing back into her forehead. She closed her eyes, taking a calming breath.

She shot into the trees, heading back towards Orochimaru's hideout. She glanced upwards to see a huge crow shadowing her. Sakura felt a rush of affection for Itachi and called upwards.

"Tell Itachi that I'm on my way."

It flapped away on soft wings, streaking towards the sunset like an arrow.

**END OF PART ONE**


	23. Intermission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events surrounding Sakura's escape from Fugaku. The immediate aftermath is dealt with, and Sakura reunites with Itachi.

 

**Thirty Minutes Before the Explosion**

* * *

 

Naruto ran, pelting through the streets of Konoha.  In his mind’s eye, he replayed Sakura’s arrest, over and over again.  Adrenaline singing through his veins, he launched himself up the side of the Hokage tower, his sandals barely making contact with the wall before he shot chakra into his feet and sprinted upwards. 

Panting hard, he cracked Tsunade’s window open and darted inside, catching Tsunade and Neji by surprise. 

“Naruto, why-“  Tsunade cut off, a glimmer of understanding shimmering in her eyes.  Her expression hardened, and she felt an icy calm wash over her. 

“Thank you, Neji.  It’s happening, and sooner than I expected.  Get the genin nine and your teammates to the location that we discussed-”

“Hey, aren’t you going to do anything?!” Naruto interrupted, gesturing wildly out the window.  “They took Sakura!  They said that she was under arrest for murdering Sasuke, you gotta do something-“

“No, Naruto.  I can’t do anything!”  Tsunade put up a hand in warning. 

“We were prepared for this.  Neji, I need you and Naruto to handle Raiton’s interrogation, I can’t be involved.  Kakashi is securing a safe house for you to use, but you’re going to have to leave Fugaku to me for now.”

Naruto was struck dumb, his panic still overriding his ability to think clearly.  “But, Sakura…?”  He said slowly, processing what Tsunade had said at a molasses-slow pace.

“She’ll be fine.  Fugaku might make life miserable for her, but he can’t kill her.” 

Neji could see that the Hokage was struggling to keep her cool, and he nodded in understanding. 

“Naruto, Sakura is going to attack Fugaku on her way out of the village.  She has to make it look like she’s completely forsaken Konoha.  Fugaku and Orochimaru have to believe it.”

“I get that,” Naruto growled, running his hands through his fluffy hair in frustration.  “But I can’t just sit here while she gets tortured!”

“Naruto, Sakura can take care of herself.” 

Tsunade braced her hands on her new desk, shaking with the effort of remaining rational.  “We need to prepare for the storm heading our way.  Neji, can you get Shizune in here?  We need to get the archives to a safe location.”

“The archives?”  Naruto asked, still confused.    

“Sakura and I discussed a way to put the fear of god into Fugaku.  The key is what’s in the archives.  I have a copy of everything.”

“How are you going to do that?”  Naruto raised his eyebrows so far up that they nearly disappeared into his headband. 

Tsunade grinned, but there was no mirth in her expression.  Her beautiful features were cold and cruelly arranged as she spoke, “Sakura’s going to tell him that we know about the connection between the Uchiha and the tailed beasts.  He’s going to panic.”

“I’m not sure I like the sound of that,” Neji said quietly, moving towards the door. 

“Good.  Imagine what it’ll do to him.  Go, Neji.”

“I’ll head out then, Hokage-sama.  I’ll make sure that Raiton is delivered safely to the location.”

Tsunade and Naruto watched him slip out the door, and Tsunade let out the breath that she’d been holding.  “Kid, you have to do everything that I say.  Sakura won’t survive this if you can’t keep your cool.”

“I know,” Naruto’s shoulders slumped and he glanced over his shoulder out the window.  Surveying the distant structures that made up the Uchiha district, he felt his stomach clench with anxiety.

“What do we have to do?”

 

**Two Minutes Before the Explosion**

* * *

 

Darting across the rooftops, Kakashi let out an exasperated sigh.  He was tired of taking detours to avoid Uchiha policemen.  As a former ANBU member he commanded a certain amount of respect, but given what was transpiring in Konoha, he didn’t want to take the chance that he was going to get held up on his way to talk to Tsunade. 

He had been talking with some old acquaintances, trying to fulfill the promise that he made to Sakura.  It had involved some fast talking and collecting on old favors owed, which made him intensely uncomfortable.  He knew that the stakes were high, but something told him that there would be massive casualties, on both sides.   

He hoped that Sakura was wrong.

Kakashi glanced over at the obnoxiously large Uchiha emblem on the entrance to their massive complex as he passed by, never slowing his pace.

He could see that the police presence was augmented everywhere, and he couldn’t help but notice the unusually high number of military officers who were wearing full combat gear.   _That’s odd, even for active constables._

Suddenly, he heard something.

Deftly manoeuvering around chimneys and skylights, he stopped in his tracks and spun to look behind him.  His ears straining to identify the sound, he heard it again.

An explosion.

Darting a glance around, he saw it.  A plume of dust and rock had risen from the heart of the Uchiha district, raining debris on the surrounding buildings.  His keen ears heard and his sharp nose smelled something that made his heart leap into his throat.

The chidori’s twittering was unmistakable.  The metallic tang of lightening carried through the air, assaulting him with memories.

He was frozen, watching in amazement as he saw a small, pink-haired figure dart up onto the rooftops, the silver chidori flickering as she moved.

_That’s Sakura! How could she possibly know that technique?  I only taught Sasuke-_

That’s when he saw it.  The flickering chakra that she wore around her like a shell, dodging and weaving around Uchiha fighters, was unmistakeable.  Sakura was fighting just like Sasuke, her petite frame using every movement to her advantage, moving just enough to dodge any attacks while putting her body in the perfect spot to counterattack. 

Kakashi couldn’t see it from where he stood, but he knew that her eyes had to be whirling with the scarlet of the sharingan.  She moved too fluidly, anticipating her attacker’s moves too perfectly to be herself.   She always fought with excellent strategy and relied on using her opponent’s strength against them until she revealed her own; she never attacked at close range until she had to.  She didn’t fight like a swordsman, but Sasuke did. 

The way that she was fighting now was new, but he would have known that underhand striking technique anywhere. 

Kakashi had seen many strange things in his life, but seeing Sasuke’s chakra swirling around her shook him to his core. 

He didn’t have much time to reign in his shock, and he stopped himself just in time from moving to help her.  Years of missions and lessons with team seven were so deeply engrained in him that it took everything he had to stay rooted in place.  His hands were tied; he couldn’t afford to jeopardize everything.

Clenching his jaw, he watched as she tore her way through the ranks of policemen sent to stop her.  He almost laughed as he saw that she hadn’t killed a single one of them, leaving devastating injuries instead.   It was almost as if she had kicked into another gear, suddenly taking off from the rooftops and moving so fast towards the westernmost gate of the village that she was a blur. 

Taking that as a signal, Kakashi darted off in the other direction, heading for the Hokage tower.  He had to warn Tsunade that Sakura was gone.  And that Sasuke was alive.

It had begun. 

 

**One Hour After the Explosion**

* * *

 

Standing calmly in front of a riot of council members and ambassadors, Tsunade took a deep breath.  She had barely finished assigning her teams to their critical tasks before the panic had started to take root.  Suddenly, messenger hawks had swept in from every direction and she knew that she needed to act quickly. 

Sakura had already left the village, raining destruction and chaos as she went.  It was perfect.  There couldn’t be any doubt left that she had betrayed Konoha.  Tsunade just hoped that Fugaku would take the bait and blunder right into her trap. 

She had marched her way to the giant amphitheater where she was standing now, determined to assess the damage and control the narrative.  She’d be damned if she let the Uchiha control the situation.  Tsunade impatiently drummed her fingers on the wood of the lectern, waiting for the room to calm.  

It didn’t.

She glanced at a ruffled Shikamaru who stood on her left side.  He shook his head, almost imperceptibly.

_Damn._

Fugaku wasn’t outside yet.  But she had to do something.

Finally losing her patience with the twittering of old shinobi, she put two fingers in her mouth and released an ear-splitting whistle. 

“We are in a state of emergency, so you had better get it together!” 

She hollered into the pews above her, feeling very satisfied when every member of the administration abruptly stopped talking and turned to face her.  Fully cloaked in her authority, she was an impressive figure standing in the centre of the dais.  Taking stock of the new information from Kakashi and what she’d already had planned with Sakura, she began to speak.

“Thank you for coming.  I gathered you here today to discuss the explosion in the Uchiha district.”

“Tsunade-sama, we are all aware of the events of this afternoon.  What remains to be seen is the reason for the attack,” a reedy voice piped up out of the stands, and she couldn’t identify who spoke. 

A low murmur started, making its way around the room.  She heard the words “ _terrorist_ ” and “ _Akatsuki_ ” mentioned, which did little to ease the nervous knot in her stomach.

_Sakura, I hope you know what the hell you’re doing._

Sighing deeply, she glanced at the briefing that had been prepared by Shizune. 

_So it begins.  I have no choice but to start._

“I have those answers.  Today our village stands in a precarious position.  We have uncovered that two high-level members of our shinobi ranks have committed unforgivable crimes, murder the least among them.”

All that she heard was rapt silence.

“An investigation was opened last week by our police force, and it has been revealed to me that I have been lied to and manipulated by those I trusted.” 

She allowed her voice to shake slightly; acting for all that she was worth.  Tsunade knew, deep down, that everything was resting on this performance.  She hoped fervently that Jiraya would have been proud of her. 

“Six months ago Sasuke Uchiha turned up at the hospital with life threatening injuries.  He passed away, despite our best efforts to save him. Until now, we had no idea of the identity of his murderer and their motive.”

She allowed her hands to curl into fists and directed the full fury of her gaze into the top levels of the amphitheater.  The room was so quiet that she could have heard a pin drop. 

“It has been made clear to the administration with the release of certain classified documents that Itachi Uchiha was the man who killed Sasuke Uchiha.  Itachi was, until yesterday, an active member of the ANBU corps and continued to run missions for Konoha.  He is currently the subject of the open investigation.  ”

A gasp rippled through the room, the information about Sasuke’s death was a shock.  Tsunade knew now that she had them right where she wanted them; the Uchiha had publicly announced that Sasuke had died on a mission.

“Itachi was, to my knowledge, deployed on a classified mission in Suna at that time.  I have been made aware that he was in fact in Konoha and had a strong motive.  The Uchiha sons have a bitter rivalry, one that cost the younger son his life.  As far as I know, it had something to do with the kekkei genkai that they share.”

_That’ll create some very uncomfortable questions for Fugaku._ She thought smugly.

The commanding tone she used left no room for interruption, and she continued, trying to speak as evenly as she could, even though lying about Itachi was difficult.  The part about Sakura was going to be even harder. 

She wanted to shout their innocence from the rooftops, but she managed to keep speaking with as much authority as she could muster.   There was just enough truth in her words to lend her speech credibility.

“It has also come to my attention that Itachi Uchiha has since left the village without my knowledge after returning yesterday, therefore I have no choice but to officially brand him a rogue-nin.  The shinobi of this village and the surrounding countries are to be informed that Itachi is incredibly dangerous and may be aligned with the Akatsuki.”

The room exploded into tense whispers, and she fought back a tiny grin.  The plan was working.

“But what about the attack on the police base?”  A call from the crowd nearly shook her composure, but she pressed on.

“Furthermore, I have received reports that my own apprentice, Sakura Haruno, was arrested this afternoon on the charge of first degree murder.  The charges were in regards to Sasuke Uchiha’s death.”

The noise was tremendous, as the arguing and questions rose to a fever pitch.  Tsunade continued to speak, determined to stay in control.

“I have also just received information that Sakura was taken to the Uchiha compound for chakra sealing.  She responded by attacking several officers and in the process managed to kill one policeman and injure thirty two others.  Two civilians were also caught in the crossfire, and are being treated at Konoha General as we speak.”

The doors burst open, and Fugaku Uchiha strode into the room, his fury written clearly on his face.  Tsunade couldn’t have planned it any better.  She caught a glimpse of shaggy silver hair as the doors swung shut. 

_Kakashi, you sly bastard._

“Tsunade, what is the meaning of this?!”  He roared, drawing himself up to his full height.  “My men have been attacked without reason by your student!”

“Fugaku, if you would take a seat, I was just getting to that,” Tsunade replied coolly, raising one blonde eyebrow.

“I will not.  The actions of your apprentice bring up questions that I cannot ignore.”

Stunned, Tsunade felt her blood run cold.  Fugaku strode out to the middle of the room and addressed the congregation. 

“Sakura Haruno is the immediate apprentice of the Hokage, and I find it hard to believe that she would make such a dangerous decision on her own, don’t you?”

“Make your point, Fugaku.”  Tsunade let steel bleed into her tone, and was satisfied as he avoided her gaze.

“Councilmen, as you may have heard, my ranks were devastated by the Hokage’s apprentice.  I refuse to believe that Tsunade had no knowledge of Haruno’s plan.”

“Your accusation, Uchiha-san, has not been forthcoming,” Shikamaru remarked drily, crossing his arms and glaring at Fugaku.

“She allowed herself to be captured in order to assassinate me.”

Tsunade almost laughed as the room went silent and all eyes finally came back to rest on her.  The plan was working too well.  Fugaku was so blinded with rage that he had fallen right into her trap.

“Councilmen.  My apprentice, although intelligent, has always been besotted with Uchiha men,” she began, directing an icy stare at Fugaku.

“It has become abundantly clear after the events of this afternoon that Sakura was seduced by Itachi.  It is my belief that they were involved before Sasuke’s death, and were co-conspirators in his murder.  If they planned to assassinate you, Fugaku, that plan was entirely Itachi’s.”

The whispers began anew.

Fugaku stood shock-still. He was as tense as a bowstring, and Tsunade felt a flash of triumph.  She was stealing his prepared speech right out from under him, taking away the power that he had hoped to gain from the council.

She continued, “Sakura has made her choice.  Following her attack on the Uchiha complex, she fled Konoha.  As several eyewitness accounts will attest, she has slashed her hatai-ate and renounced Konohagakure.  I therefore have no choice but to brand her a rogue shinobi as well. Won’t you sit down, Fugaku?”

Her sudden question seemed to shock him, and he took a moment before responding. “There is one more thing; it appears that Haruno has stolen my son’s sharingan.”

Tsunade was struck dumb, caught off guard by this new information.  She didn’t have anything to say, her brain whirring at top speed.

Fugaku’s smug expression made her want to pummel him into the ground.  It was then that she finally noticed the small chakra burn that wound up his right arm and all the way to his jaw.  She felt a flicker of affection for Sakura, but it was immediately replaced by worry.

“Sasuke’s body was disturbed not long after his death.  This new development leads me to believe that Itachi and Sakura were after his sharingan and shared his eyes between them.”

“What proof do you have, Fugaku?”  Tsunade finally found her voice, taking the temperature of the room and finding that she felt very small.  Powerless.

He smirked, displaying the burns on his arm and face.  “She was able to use Sasuke’s chidori technique, also, she has the medical training to heal both her own and Itachi’s eyes after they took Sasuke’s sharingan.”

“You have a point.”  Tsunade said slowly, crossing her arms. 

She saw a flicker of surprise in Fugaku’s eyes, but she continued before he had a chance to retort.

“So, in short, Sakura Haruno and Itachi Uchiha are branded rogue and dangerous.  I have no choice but to declare them enemies of Konoha.  If they are encountered, they are to be killed or captured.”

She almost laughed once again as she saw the expression on Fugaku’s face. 

“I expect their names and likenesses to be added to the bingo book immediately.  If anyone has any information on their whereabouts or intentions for Konoha, they are to report to my office immediately.  Until further notice, Konoha is placed on high alert.  There is to be a thorough investigation of the Uchiha attack, and I will personally see to it that those who are a danger to our village are eliminated.”

She pointedly avoided looking at Fugaku as she spoke, knowing that he would be unable to respond to her statement without opening himself up to scrutiny. 

“Fugaku, I must say that I’m glad to see that your eyesight has improved,” she added smugly.  He had forgotten to camouflage his eyes; it was clear as day that he could see perfectly.

Leaving a room full of stunned councilors in her wake, she swept out of the amphitheater.

 

**Five Hours After the Explosion**

* * *

 

Sakura knelt down beside a stream, gratefully drinking cool water from her cupped hand.  She was breathing hard, her muscles protesting from being forced to move so quickly.  She had taken a soldier pill an hour before, but she knew that the energy wouldn’t last her much longer.  Her pace was too intense, she’d managed to travel fifty miles in the span of five hours. 

She glanced into the sky at the sound of soft wings, and was only slightly surprised when one of Itachi’s crows floated into view.  Silhouetted against the stars, it fluttered down to rest on a branch beside her. It comforted her somewhat, and she made up her mind. 

She needed to talk to Sasuke.   

Standing up, she stretched and concentrated.  Breathing slowly and deeply, she managed to isolate the measure of Uchiha chakra that lay beneath her seal.   _Oh, so that’s why I didn’t notice him before._

The thought of Sasuke hitching a ride in her body made her very uncomfortable, and she had some hard questions to ask him.  But first, she needed him to stop hiding. 

“Sasuke, I need to talk to you,” she murmured, nudging her chakra against what she assumed to be Sasuke’s presence. 

She was rewarded by chakra pouring out of her pressure point once again, and she almost couldn’t hold in a chuckle as a thoroughly disgruntled Sasuke materialized.

_“What?”_

“Hello to you too.  I’m grateful that you’re still alive, really.  But you need to find another way to-“

_“You don’t want me to be in your forehead?”_ He interrupted, avoiding her gaze. _“Believe me, I feel the same way.”_

Feeling slightly stung, she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him.  “Yeah, that’s good to know.”

_“Just make a clone, would you?”_  

She felt her face scrunch into a frown as she took in his tone.  “Fine.  But first you need to tell me what the hell is going on here.  How were you able to seal your chakra into me?”

_“The mangekyou let me into your chakra streams, so it was easy.  What I don’t get is how come you had so much Uchiha chakra in your system to start with.”_   He glared right back, annoyed that he had to explain himself.

Sakura’s mouth fell open as his response registered.  “The chakra transfer!  Oh my god, it changed my system enough that you were able to grab onto it?”

He didn’t answer, just shrugged. 

“It must have!”

_“Why did Itachi give you his chakra?”_ He sounded genuinely curious, which surprised her.  She had expected him to be accusing her of something.

“Naruto was dying; I couldn’t keep up the chakra that he needed.  So Itachi gave me some of his.”

_“Hn.”_

She felt her heartbeat quicken as she asked her next question, “Sasuke, is that how you were able to use my eyes as your sharingan?”

“ _Probably_ ,” was all that he said, and she felt her hackles rising. 

“Probably?”

_“It didn’t do me much good.  It was a waste of chakra.”_

“What’s with the attitude?”

_“You always make things difficult.  If you had moved faster with the chidori then my father wouldn’t be a problem anymore.”_

“It was your choice to do that, so don’t you dare make this  _my_  problem!  I’m in this whole mess because you apparently couldn’t stop and ask yourself if what your father was doing was crazy!”

_“I couldn’t do that.”_

“That’s bullshit, and we both know it.”

His expression hardened, and he crossed his arms.   _“You couldn’t possibly understand what was going on.”_

“So enlighten me!”  Sakura snapped back, furiously signing the shadow clone jutsu.  It felt so good to finally unleash her frustrations; she had always allowed Sasuke to walk all over her.

He couldn’t see her ranting over the smoke, but he certainly heard her.

“You think you’re so great, just because of who your family is.  You don’t stop and think about what kind of consequences your actions have!  I don’t have a sharingan, Sasuke!  I’m not losing my eyesight because you’ve decided to act like some kind of lamprey and use me to get around!”

The puff of smoke cleared, and Sasuke found himself glaring at two livid Sakuras.  The one on the right continued to sign a camouflage jutsu, and suddenly the clone on the left was a perfect replica of Sasuke.

“Get in the bloody clone,” she grumbled, her emerald eyes never leaving him.  “It’s easier to yell at you when you’re actually in a body.”

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

_“Fine.”_

Taking a step towards the shadow clone, Sasuke suddenly went translucent and merged with the clone.  Blinking slowly, he opened his eyes and inspected his hands.

Suddenly feeling very embarrassed, Sakura turned away, back towards the stream.  “Look, I know that we were never close, but we’re past all that now.  Being open with me is probably the only way that we’re going to get through this.”

“Fine, but you’re going to have to talk to him for me.” 

Sakura almost jumped out of her skin as Sasuke spoke.  Hearing his adult voice was still strange to her, especially since she had heard it so rarely. 

“What are you asking?”  She answered, avoiding his direct gaze. 

“Itachi.  I want to talk to him, face to face,” he answered irritably.  “We have unfinished business.”

Frowning, she turned to face him.  “Sasuke, you’re not thinking of getting revenge, are you?”

He shook his head almost imperceptibly, his dark eyes thoughtful.  “No.”

“Good.  Let me talk to him first, and then you two can figure things out.  But I think that we should keep you a secret from Orochimaru.”

The corner of Sasuke’s mouth ticked upwards, and she realized that he was trying not to smirk.  “Obviously.”

“Okay,” she sighed, putting her hands on her hips.  “Now, I’m going to get rid of the clone when we get close to the hideout.  So this is your chance to run around a bit, in another body.”

She added the last bit hastily, giving him a pointed look.  

He didn’t respond, just took off into the trees.  She followed him, trying to cram all of her frustration down.  He hadn’t changed a bit.  He was still the stubborn, emotionally-stunted pain in the ass that she remembered.  But he was alive, for all intents and purposes, and that eased the knot of guilt that had lived inside of her ever since the night at the hospital.

It felt natural, moving through the trees at top speed with Sasuke.  Sakura felt herself sliding back into the old rhythm of team seven, missing the comforting presence of Naruto and Kakashi as they traveled.  She was grateful that Sasuke didn't seem to be in the mood to chat, she was mentally exhausted. 

Sakura was deep in thought, assessing her eyes for signs of optic damage.  She found nothing other than a bit of swelling, but it still concerned her. 

She blushed as she suddenly came to a realization.  “Sasuke, can you see and hear everything that I’m experiencing?”

He had the good grace to look slightly ashamed as he looked back at her, a very faint blush staining his cheekbones.  “Yeah, most of it.”

_That means…he might have been there when…_ _Oh shit.  Itachi’s going to be so embarrassed.  I’m so embarrassed!_

She wanted to drop dead. 

Before she could say anything, she sensed a chakra signature closing in on them.  Moving instinctively, she darted up behind Sasuke, grabbed his shoulder, and  _pulled_.

His exclamation of annoyance was ignored as she siphoned the chakra out of the clone and back into her body.  She felt a tiny wave of dizziness overtake her, but determinedly reabsorbed Sasuke’s chakra.

The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Dropping into a defensive stance, she sagged in relief as Itachi suddenly darted through the forest below her.  He didn’t notice the flash of scarlet in her eyes, Sasuke was still a secret. 

For now.

“Itachi!”

He looked up as she dropped to the ground.  Immediately, he stepped in front of her, pulling her into his arms.  She let him, her exhaustion finally allowing her to let her guard down. 

She was safe.  For now, anyways. 

“I didn’t expect the investigation to progress so quickly. Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, I had to fight my way out, but I got confirmation from your father of what he’s up to.”

His eyes raked over her face, stopping abruptly when he saw her split lip.  His expression darkened, and he brushed his thumb over the wound, so gently that she didn’t even feel it. 

“He hurt you.” 

She sighed, passing a hand over her mouth and healing the cut.  “Itachi, I’m fine.  He barely touched me. I forgot about it, honestly.”

He didn’t answer, but she could see that he was furious.  She slid her hands upwards until they rested on his jaw.  “Hey, are you even listening?”

“Sorry,” he murmured, resting his chin on the top of her head.  She let him pull her in close, releasing a deep breath.  She felt some of the tension drain out of her shoulders as his arms wrapped around her. 

They stood there for a moment, until Itachi pulled away to inspect her headband.  “Sakura, you-“

“I know.  I had to be sure that Fuguku knows that us leaving the village isn’t fake.”

“Well then mine should match.”

She raised her eyebrows, drawing his headband out of her pack.  “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

She watched with some sadness as he drew a dark, ugly mark over Konoha’s sigil with the edge of a kunai.  The sound of the metal rending sent a shiver down her spine.

It was official.  They were rogue-nin.

The thought filled her with fear.    _What if I can’t keep up the ruse?_

As if he could hear her thoughts, Itachi pressed a chaste kiss on the top of her head, trying to reassure her.

He sighed after a moment, his breath rustling her hair.  “You’re going to hate the hideout.”

“I can deal with being underground, Itachi.”

He laughed softly, drawing back slightly to look her in the eyes. “No, I meant the members of the Akatsuki.  I only met a few of them this afternoon but you’re not going to like their…eccentricities.”

“Why does that not surprise me?  Is there any way that we can go somewhere where we can talk?”

“I’m sure we can.  Do you need to tell me something?”

“Yes.  But it can wait for a little while.”  She couldn’t explain exactly why she was hesitant to tell Itachi about Sasuke.  It was partly because she knew that it would make things uncomfortable, and partly because she was afraid of what Orochimaru would do if he found out.

_Sasuke can’t survive inside me or a clone forever.  We may not have much time to find out what he knows.  I need to find out what Orochimaru has in his archives.  Maybe there's a way to create a permanent solution._

The corners of Itachi’s mouth ticked up, and he held out his hand.  “Come on, we should get moving.”

Without any hesitation she took it, and they darted into the forest.

“Welcome to the Akatsuki.”

 

**Six Hours After the Explosion**

* * *

 

Fugaku paced angrily in a circle.  He surveyed the damage done to his interrogation chamber with barely concealed fury. 

Glancing at the corpse on the floor, he felt another flash of anger as he took in the arm-shaped hole in the man’s chest. 

_He was my best lieutenant.  Another damn setback and everything is going to fall apart._

He turned abruptly and slammed his fists down on the metal table.  His hands became slick with blood as his knuckles split, and he took a deep breath.  The pain cleared his thoughts.

The room still smelled like lightning and fear, and he felt his anger ebbing away.  It was replaced by cold detachment as he began to collect himself and plan his next move.

“Sir?”  A hesitant cousin poked his head through the doorway, taking stock of the furious police chief standing in a bright patch of moonlight.  “Do you need anything?”

“You can’t help me in this, Natsu.  But I need you to take care of another little problem.”

“Which is?”

“I don’t know how that little chit managed to get Sasuke’s sharingan, but I’ll get to the bottom of it.  She knows too much, and that means that Tsunade also knows.”

“Knows what, sir?”

"It doesn’t matter.  Gather seven of our men and burn it all.”

“Burn what?”

Fugaku felt his frustration mounting, and he turned on the man.  “The archives, you idiot.  Burn everything, down to the ground.  If the Hokage burns with them, then so be it.”

“Yes, sir!” 

The man took off, and Fugaku could hear the tapping of his sandals becoming more distant.  He allowed a malicious grin to slide over his face.   _You won’t be finding anything else in the archives to use against me, Tsunade._

* * *

 

Fugaku didn’t notice the small cluster of beetles that took flight from the edge of the hole in the ground.   They returned to their master in the nearby trees, buzzing around him in what could only be described as an affectionate dance. 

Shino took stock of the new information, pressing a button on his walkie-talkie.  “Naruto, Fugaku is moving men to destroy the archives.  They’re going to burn them.”

_“Thanks, Shino.  I’ll tell the old lady,”_  the metallic reply was quick, echoing through Shino’s earpiece. 

* * *

 

Naruto glanced over his shoulder at Tsunade, who was standing with him at the summit of Hokage Mountain.  She surveyed Konoha, her lips pursed in concentration. 

“Hey, Shino said that the Uchiha are going to burn down the archives.”

“Let them.”  

Tsunade’s reply was calm, and she seemed to be deep in thought.  “Radio over to Shizune in the building and tell her to find a reason to get everyone out of there.”

Naruto did as he was told, and they watched as tiny figures began to exit the building.  “You sure that’s a good idea?  There’s some important stuff down there.”

“Yes.  We have copies of everything in a safe location.  We need Fugaku to think that he has the upper hand,” she said quietly, crossing her arms.

“Hey, Tsunade?”

“Yeah?”

“Sakura’s going to be okay, right?”

Tsunade sighed, glancing over her shoulder at Naruto.  Her expression was tired; she looked older than Naruto had ever seen her.  “I don’t know, kid.  It’s in their hands now.  Sakura and Itachi are our best chance.”

Plumes of smoke began to drift out of the administration building, and Tsunade’s expression hardened.

_Here we go._

_"Naruto, we have Raiton."_ Neji's calm voice suddenly echoed over the earpiece, and Naruto grinned.  

"Neji's got Raiton.  Looks like Orochimaru was serious. Right at the stroke of midnight."

Tsunade's expression was stormy, and she nodded curtly at him.  "Get that scroll."

She watched as Naruto took off, moving at a pace that would have made his father proud. 

_Now it’s my move, Fugaku._


	24. A New Beginning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura and Itachi deal with their new reality. Life in the Akatsuki is full of surprises.

**A/N:  Hello everyone!  Thank you for all of the support/reviews/follows/favorites!  Every single one motivates me to keep writing this story, I'm determined to finish it- hopefully within the next year.**

**So without further ado, here is the first chapter of Part Two. :)**

* * *

 

_Necromancy- nope, nope, nope, I don't want that._

Sakura's finger traced down the page of an old book, and she shuddered at the thought.

_No, I definitely am not interested in that cultist kind of stuff. If I wanted to know about that I would have talked to Hidan._

Consciously clearing her mind, she flipped the page and cringed.

_Okay, next item on the list is voodoo, which is also some dark shit. That's also not what I'm looking for._

She huffed in frustration and slammed the tome closed, ignoring the puff of dust that flew into her face. She dug around in her desk for a moment and pulled out a sealed scroll.

_I suppose I should probably just go down the reanimation route, but I can't afford for Orochimaru to figure out what I'm up to. Maybe I should look at it from the medical viewpoint first; Kabuto will be able to tell me what I need to know._

Absentmindedly, she reached to her right for a bite of her snack and suddenly jerked her hand back with a gasp of pain. The plate of tomatoes went flying, and she fixed Sasuke with a death glare.

Sasuke had pecked her,  _again_.

"Cut that out!" She hissed, watching as a bead of blood welled up on her finger. Sakura fed healing chakra into the small puncture wound, her temper rising to the surface. "You have got to stop doing that, I'm eating those too!"

Sasuke ruffled his feathers indignantly, hopping to turn his tail to her. " _They're my favorite, you should have asked."_

"I got them for you! Honestly, you are so selfish sometimes," she groaned, turning back to her reading. "You do know that I'm researching my ass off for your benefit, right?

_"You won't let me forget it,"_  he grumbled, coming as close as a crow could get to making a "harrumph!" sound. She was struck by the urge to laugh, he sounded so much like a grumpy old man sometimes.

She supposed their mutual frustration was due to a lack of progress on her part, but she was feeling particularly feisty after being cooped up inside all day.

"You need a real body; the crow isn't going to work forever. So unless you're planning to help, shut your beak."

_"Hn."_

"I'm not in the mood for this." She stood up and began to pace, thinking hard. Sasuke was even more irritating when he was in a crow clone; it matched his personality too well. She glanced out the window, reassured by the sight of the blue sky.

_I would go crazy if I was stuck in the underground offices. It smells like clay, and dirt, and-_

That's when she was struck with a fantastic idea.

_Deidara! Why didn't I think of him before?_

The newest member of the Akatsuki could be the key to bringing Sasuke back, for real.  _He could do it; I just have to convince him._

_"You'd better not be planning something without me. I get to make the final decisions about my body."_

"I just thought of something, give me some time."

_"You say that a lot."_

Glaring reproachfully at Sasuke perched on the top of her desk lamp, she continued to think. Appraising the strength of the clone, she let her eyes unfocus so that she could measure the chakra within. Sasuke shifted his weight and flapped his wings impatiently. " _Stop staring at me, it's annoying."_

"Sorry, just trying to figure something out." She waved her hand absentmindedly, still lost in thought.

He stayed quiet, taking advantage of her distraction to gulp down the rest of the tomatoes.

She didn't even notice that he was tracking ink all over her notes. A new plan was taking shape, and Sasuke could practically hear her brain whirring as she calculated scenarios in her head.

"Sasuke… I have a question."

_"Hm?"_

"Why didn't you try to kill Itachi? You had every reason to want him dead. As horrible as it sounds, he would be the perfect vessel for your chakra."

He regarded her for a moment, clicking his beak in annoyance.

"Don't look at me like that; I'm not suggesting that we use Itachi! It's just a question," she muttered, avoiding his accusing stare.

_"I know who my true enemy is."_

"Your father."

_"Yes."_  Somehow, his glittering avian eyes managed to express a dark, burning hatred. She assumed that her eyes probably shared the same expression.

Sakura nodded her agreement, silently grateful that their goals aligned. It would be impossible to control or contain a vengeful Sasuke, and she was glad that she wouldn't have to try.

But the crow was starting to get on her nerves. His constant hopping and flapping was distracting.

The most pressing reason why Itachi had suggested the crow vessel for Sasuke was because her eyes had been severely affected by the influx of Uchiha chakra. The side effects had started with headaches, then evolved into hallucinations, and then finally the blurring of her vision if she ever let Sasuke's chakra bleed out from behind her seal.

She'd lasted for five days before she couldn't take it anymore. Sasuke had figured out that the reason that she'd been able to deal with his chakra before was because he was more or less dormant below her previously existing seal.

Itachi's chakra had replaced her dwindling supply when she was running low, so it made sense that Sasuke's foreign chakra would affect her differently when her body wasn't metabolizing it.

Once Sasuke had taken control and broken out of his own seal, he'd been able to latch onto the remnants of Itachi's chakra in her system. When that reserve had been burned away, he had tapped straight into her chakra streams.

That's when the side effects had manifested, much to Sakura's regret. Sakura was still struggling to admit to herself that the power of the sharingan was intoxicating; it felt nearly as good as a chakra transfer.

The foresight that came with the sharingan was both alarming and profoundly satisfying when used in battle. She hadn't dared to use Sasuke's chakra since joining the Akatsuki; it would be foolish to reveal all of her cards so early in the game. She was also silently afraid of becoming addicted, and she knew that relying on the sharingan was only going to get her killed.

_Having a sharingan is probably as close to being invincible as I'm going to get_ , she thought wistfully, trying hard to steer her thoughts in a more productive direction.

She thanked her lucky stars again that the brothers seemed to be okay with each other. There was a truce between them, which was fine by her. Sakura knew that with time they would be able to move past their issues.

_At least they aren't trying to kill each other. Even though all they do is argue over the dumbest things._

Itachi had taken the news well; in fact he was downright enthusiastic about having Sasuke around. Sasuke, on the other hand, was having a harder time adjusting to their new dynamic. She was content to leave them alone while they navigated through their brotherly squabbles.

She could tune them out most of the time.

Sakura had enough to worry about; she didn't have time to play peacekeeper.

It was becoming increasingly more difficult to find the time to search through Orochimaru's files. Between her duties as the medic of the operation and having to constantly perform life-saving surgeries on Orochimaru's test subjects, she barely had time to sleep.

The Sannin had so many books and scrolls on forbidden jutsus that she could realistically waste her whole life reading them, but she wasn't interested in finding a temporary vessel for Sasuke. Orochimaru's main interest was clearly parasitic jutsus, ones that involved the taking over and subsequent control of a powerful host.

She suddenly felt cold, despite the sweltering heat of the room.

_No wonder he was so interested in gaining a sharingan. An Uchiha would be a powerful new body, I don't even want to think about what Orochimaru could do with that kind of kekkei genkai._

_T_ _here has to be a way to give Sasuke a body without killing someone else in the process. Deidara could be the answer to our problem. We won't have to find Sasuke a host if we can build one instead._

Sakura felt a shudder of revulsion flow down her spine as she thought about all of Orochimaru's test subjects, caged beneath their base like animals.  _I'm taking them with me when I burn this place to the ground._

Her immediate concerns were Itachi's safety and finding a way to keep Sasuke alive; that's what she needed to focus on. She was disappointed in herself for thinking about the situation in such black and white terms, but she was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Balancing the lives of Konoha's citizens and those directly affected by the Akatsuki's actions against a few dozen captives was a harsh thing to do, but (as Itachi was quick to remind her) what they were doing was for the greater good.

The world wouldn't suffer for the loss of the Akatsuki and Fugaku Uchiha.

In the meantime, she was trying to establish enough trust with the Akatsuki members in order to be able to talk to them without rousing suspicion. Some members made it more difficult than others, but she forced herself through the motions.

_I don't mind Kisame. Deidara's high strung, but I can work with that._

Any alliances that she and Itachi could form would end up making themselves useful at some point. Until then, they were on their own.

Her mind flashed back to the moment that she had come clean to Itachi about Sasuke. They had barely made it out the hideout when she'd decided to tell him everything.

* * *

_She entered into the room behind him, feeling both mentally and physically exhausted. Taking a moment to examine her surroundings, she was pleasantly surprised to see that the chamber they were standing in had a balcony and a large, four-poster bed. "Y'know, I thought that we'd be stuck in some kind of bat-infested cave," she remarked tiredly, gesturing at the opulent décor._

_"I had the same thought."_

_Moonlight streamed in from the open window, and she took a second to admire Itachi's profile. He noticed, of course._

_He glanced back at her, a small smile on his lips. "I hope you don't mind that we're sharing."_

_She felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth and she stepped closer to him, running her hands up his chest and onto his shoulders. "I can think of worse things."_

_His warm hands cupped her cheeks and he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "We should get some rest. Orochimaru has agreed to officially initiate us tomorrow."_

_Sakura frowned, fully aware that the warmth of his lips rested on her seal. She couldn't stop thinking about Sasuke. She was frustrated that she couldn't enjoy their reunion; she'd been looking forward to it. All that she wanted to do was relax into his arms, but it wasn't possible when her mind was whirring._

_She knew that the only way that they were going to survive their mission was if they were completely transparent with their respective information. Itachi would take this secret to his grave if he had to, she wasn't worried about that. The irony wasn't lost on Sakura, but a decision had to be made, for the good of Konoha._

_As nervous as she was to tell him about Sasuke, she couldn't afford to keep secrets from him and break his trust. He needed to know. He deserved to know._

_She ignored the butterflies in her stomach and steeled herself for what she was about to say._

_"You're worried." His statement wasn't a question; he could read her like an open book._

_He stepped back, his gaze raking over her pinched expression._

_She nodded, stepping away from him and crossing her arms in a self-conscious gesture._

_"Itachi, I need to tell you something."_

_"Okay."_

_"…I almost didn't get out of Konoha."_

_He sat down on the bed, his expression openly curious. "Go ahead."_

_She sighed deeply, settling down beside him. "Your father had me taken to an interrogation room belowground in the Uchiha complex. My chakra was sealed away and I pushed him too far. That's when he hit me."_

_Her hand strayed to her mouth, and she saw a flash of anger in Itachi's eyes. The slight narrowing of his eyes was the only sign of his frustration, but his harsh expression eased when she reached out to gently trace her fingertips over his knuckles._

_Itachi didn't say anything, just nodded for her to continue._

_Taking a deep breath, she kept talking, although the ice of anxiety was already starting to wind through her veins. "He tried to use the mangekyou on me, but it didn't work-"_

_"What?" Itachi couldn't help his interruption, concern flitting over his handsome features, "What do you mean, it didn't work?"_

_"It didn't work because another sharingan countered it," she said slowly, trying to find the words._

_"What do you mean by "another sharingan"..?"_

_"I don't know exactly what happened, but it was Sasuke's."_

_She knew him well enough to recognize that the slight tensing of his shoulders meant that he was just as shocked as she had been._

_She continued, trying get the words out before she lost her nerve. "He managed to seal himself into my forehead, right behind my seal. He saved my life."_

_Quickly, she told him everything. She described how Sasuke had taken control and made an attempt on Fugaku's life, the explosion that she'd created when she'd burst out of the ground, and their escape._

_Itachi didn't interrupt, but she could tell that he was bursting to ask the most important question of all._

_"Sasuke…is alive?"_

_She didn't answer, just concentrated her chakra and allowed Sasuke to bloom out from her forehead. Itachi stood up quickly, the expression on his face a competing mixture of confusion, relief, and suspicion. Sasuke materialized rapidly, his facial expression mirroring his brother's._

_They just looked at each other in silence for several long moments._

_Sakura stepped back, realizing that she should probably give them a moment to talk. She turned around and was just about to open the door and slip into the hallway when she heard Sasuke speak._

_"Sakura, stay." Sasuke spoke suddenly, glancing over his shoulder at her. "You don't need to leave."_

_"Oh. Okay." She glanced at Itachi, and was reassured when he nodded his agreement. She closed the door and settled back on the bed, trying to contain the mixed emotions that were swirling around inside of her._

_Itachi broke the silence between them, a small smile lighting up his face as he took in the sight of his little brother._

_"Sasuke. You're...alive."_

_His tone held a hint of disbelief, but Sakura could tell that he was trying to reign in his relief that Sasuke wasn't dead after all._

_"Yeah." Sasuke shifted from foot to foot, uncomfortable with Itachi._

_There was a fragile truce between them, most likely forged when Sakura had entered the mangekyou. Sakura felt a flash of triumph as they eyed each other, sure that they would patch things up quickly if they were given enough time._

_As quickly as Uchiha men are able, anyways, she thought smugly._

_They had forgotten how to be brothers, that much was obvious. But slowly, Sakura could see their defenses gradually lowering as they shared an unspoken joke between them, and Sasuke's lips curled up in a smirk that she knew too well._

_"So you're not going to try and kill each other?" She felt the words leave her mouth, and she had the good grace to blush as they both turned to stare at her. "What? I had to make sure!"_

_Sasuke was thoroughly offended, and he glared at her. "I said that I wasn't going to do anything. I heard enough in the mangekyou and afterwards to figure stuff out."_

_Finally addressing the elephant in the room, Itachi crossed his arms and looked Sasuke directly in the eyes. "So you understand."_

_"I know, big brother." Sasuke's expression softened and he crossed his arms, mirroring Itachi._

_"I couldn't see you."_

_"I know, Itachi."_

_"It was…"_

_"I know it was Father. You don't have to explain."_

_Sakura suddenly felt very awkward just sitting there, but she knew that the brothers were communicating volumes without saying a word. The tiny expressions that flitted across their faces told her all that she needed to know. Sasuke finally looked away and crossed his arms, his chakra-form shimmering with every movement. "Sakura, can you..?"_

_"Sure." She knew what he meant, and signing quickly, produced a shadow clone. Both she and Itachi watched Sasuke merging with the clone. They patiently waited for him to adjust to his temporary form as he opened his coal-black eyes and inspected his hands._

_Seeing him in solid form again made her heart ache, and she forced down the urge to start crying._

_Hesitantly, more uncertain than she'd ever seen him, Itachi broke the silence. "You're taller than I remember."_

_"I'm taller than you."_

_"No, you aren't. I've always been-"_

_Sakura let out a surprised peal of laughter, quickly covering her mouth with her hand when they both turned to look at her._

_"You guys are seriously arguing about who's taller?" She couldn't stifle her laughter, finally giving into her exhaustion. Smiling sheepishly at each other, the brothers wore matching expressions, a combination of mirth and exasperation._

_Sasuke cleared his throat, and Sakura knew that he was about to change the subject. He hadn't changed that much since they were children, talking about his feelings wasn't his forte._

_"So, are you going to ask for my blessing, or what?"_

_"I didn't realize that I'd have the opportunity, given that this is all rather unorthodox. She isn't a cousin, after all," Itachi said drily, the hint of a smirk coloring his expression. "Will you give it?"_

_"Hm."_

_"Hey!" Sakura couldn't help her objection, both amused and offended by Itachi's reply. "It's not like I'm a swamp creature of the night!"_

_Sasuke shot her an exasperated look. "It's tradition for Uchiha, you're interrupting."_

_"Don't I get a say?"_

_"No." The brothers chorused, and they both looked equally shocked and amused by their simultaneous responses._

_"Fine, yes. I grant you my approval." Sasuke grumbled, and Sakura felt a rush of affection._

_She had been worried that Sasuke would try to kill Itachi; she was pleasantly surprised to find that he was calm. He almost seemed… happy._

_She let out a relieved sigh; at least she wouldn't have to worry too much about them. She could focus on destroying Orochimaru's empire, although that thought didn't bring her much comfort._

_She could feel herself zoning out, she wasn't even listening to their quiet conversation. She was fully absorbed in her own thoughts._

_Eventually, she felt her eyelids drooping, and she realized that she was running on fumes._

_"Not to interrupt, but since we're all on the same side now, I really need to sleep before I pass out on the floor." Sakura said sheepishly, trying and failing to hold in a yawn._

_"We should get some rest, tomorrow everything will change." Itachi agreed, sharing a meaningful look with his brother._

_Sasuke nodded, almost imperceptibly._

* * *

It had almost been four months to the day, and Sakura was frustrated. She hadn't expected to find the exact information that she needed to take down Fugaku immediately, but she didn't like the delay.

Absently, she wondered how Naruto was doing.  _I would have heard something if there was trouble._

Forcing her thoughts back to the task at hand, she began to pace.

She was constantly busy. The members of the Akatsuki were always in need of tune-up medical work, and Orochimaru had proven himself to be extremely needy. He was constantly sending out teams for scrolls or scouting work. As far as Sakura could tell, there was no rhyme or reason to his assignments.

Maybe Orochimaru just liked to keep the teams moving. Sakura thought that it might be a tactic to keep the members busy, a preventative measure to stop them from plotting against him as a group.

As a result, she spent a lot of time separated from Itachi, which was trying for both of them. Their relationship was complicated enough without having to worry about whether or not he would return alive.

Itachi and Sasuke had agreed without her that Sasuke should stay with Sakura, for extra protection. She was reluctant at first, but now she could see the wisdom in their plan.

Sakura had figured out quickly that she couldn't maintain her cover and keep Sasuke's chakra signature a secret at the same time. Any weakness was like blood in the water, and the rest of the Akatsuki was constantly circling around them.

She'd fought Itachi on the idea of using a crow clone for Sasuke, afraid that he might not be close enough to maintain it when he was sent on missions. Sasuke didn't even know what would happen to his chakra if the clone was destroyed. If Sakura was close enough to him, she could siphon it into her body, but if they were separated...

Sasuke might disappear forever.

The possibility that they might be found out by the other members of the Akatsuki terrified Sakura, and she'd argued long and hard with both Itachi and Sasuke over it.

But Itachi, as usual, had been annoyingly clever when he noted that Sasuke's Uchiha chakra signature would be masked by his own. Sasuke had also chosen to use his own chakra to power the clone, which would allow him to be any distance from Itachi. She hated it when they worked together to prove her wrong.

But, grudgingly, she had to admit that it was a good plan.

Sakura slept easier knowing that Orochimaru wasn't likely to notice anything strange about a crow following her around. Itachi had made sure to establish early on that he used them. However, after four months she was prepared to pay one of the other members to take Sasuke off her hands for a while.

_But not Hidan, he might try to eat him._

Thankfully, the members of the Akatsuki didn't think anything of one of Itachi's crows shadowing Sakura as she went about her day. It was an unspoken rule that no one messed with her. Partly because she had nearly crushed Kisame the month previously, and partly because Itachi had quickly established himself as one of the most powerful members of the Akatsuki.

It also helped that Orochimaru had commissioned her as his personal medic. She'd replaced Kabuto for the time being, apparently he had a specific research project to take care of.

_As soon as Kabuto's finished his project, I can focus on searching the archives with Itachi._

She felt a flicker of anxiety as she glanced at the calendar nailed to the side of her workstation. Itachi had been gone for three weeks, far longer than she'd expected him to be away. Sakura knew that she wasn't in any immediate danger, but she wasn't exactly eager to have him gone.

She replaced the book on the shelf, trying to hold back a sneeze as it puffed out another measure of dust.

She glanced up in surprise as the door to her workroom swung open, admitting one very irritated Orochimaru. She didn't allow herself to react, having become accustomed to his dramatic tendencies.

"Sakura. My arm has stopped working!"

His tone barely fazed her anymore.

"I told you to stop using it for a while. The leeches can't do their job if you keep trying to use any jutsu that works with the curse marks," she sighed, crossing her arms, "You can do your work one-handed, which is what I told you the first three times."

"And I told you the first three times, I want to use it  _now_."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and steeled herself for what she was about to say. "Well then you need a new host. This body is too far gone to sustain you for much longer."

The glint in his eyes confirmed her suspicions; he was already working on acquiring a new vessel. "I suppose Itachi is out of the question, hm?"

She forced a small laugh to escape her, surprising him. "It's cute that you think that you could defeat Itachi."

Her tone left no room for discussion, and Orochimaru smirked. She knew that she was too valuable to him at the moment; for now he wouldn't hurt her for her insolence.

"Perhaps he would best me. Perhaps not."

"Do you want to take that chance?"

He regarded her for a moment, his expression flashing between annoyed and amused. "Wouldn't that be interesting."

Sasuke chose that inopportune moment to squawk loudly, ignoring Sakura's glare.  _Shut up, Sasuke!_

"Your familiar is always nearby, you seem to be quite fond of him," Orochimaru remarked, inspecting the nails on his good hand, "Does he have a name?"

"Sasuke." Sakura answered immediately, hoping that he would think she was sentimental. He was less likely to suspect the real circumstance if she told him a half-truth.

His eyes flashed, he was intrigued. "Well, well, well, that's very interesting. What does Itachi think of that particular name?"

"He suggested it, so I imagine that it's fine," she said breezily, ignoring her gut instinct to quit talking. She unwrapped all of the bandages around his damaged forearm with a practiced hand, tsking as she surveyed the damage. Her hands lit up with the emerald radiance of her chakra, illuminating Orochimaru's face with an eerie green glow.

He watched her silently for a moment, and then heaved a dramatic sigh.

"Someday, you'll let me mark you. So much wasted potential, Sakura-chan," he nearly purred, shrugging out of the sleeve of his yukata so that she could reach the bandages wrapped around his upper arm.

"I'm already marked. So, no thanks."

He sat down at her examination table, his body moving with the grace of a seasoned predator. "What a shame."

She allowed a sphere of chakra to bloom out of her palm, running it up the damaged arm. "You have plenty of willing subjects; I don't see why it's a shame."

She clucked her tongue, the damage was progressing more rapidly than she'd expected. "The necrosis is progressing too quickly for me to heal it this way."

"I'm dying to know, why not?"

"Why not, what?" She paused, darting a glance at him. His gaze unnerved her, his eyes were so eerily snakelike that she was almost worried that he would dart over and rip her throat out.

It would be too easy for him to do it.  _I can't forget that._

"I know Tsunade, and so I know you. You have anger, bubbling underneath the surface. I could help you channel it."

"It's not far under the surface. You have my answer."

"The kind of strength that you could so easily have, it doesn't tempt you?"

"The last thing that you need is me dying because the seal didn't take," Sakura said lightly, tapping her own seal with her fingernail. "Even if I was eligible, which for the record I'm not, I wouldn't accept your offer."

_I've already tasted the power of the sharingan, that kind of ambition is too dangerous. A taste will never be enough, I'll go crazy._

He didn't reply, simply watched her as she attempted to bring blood flow and chakra back into his arm. She concentrated her chakra stream into scalpels and began to pare away at the dead flesh. He hissed in pain as she carved down to the healthy cells. She took his admission of weakness as a tiny triumph, still ever mindful of her plans to destroy Orochimaru and his operation.

She worked quickly, mercilessly. Sakura's attention was so focused on her work that she was almost able to ignore how intently he was watching her. She began to get nervous, suddenly reminded of her precarious position in the Akatsuki.

"How were you able to hurt Samehada so badly?" Orochimaru spoke so abruptly that she almost jumped a foot in the air. In a vain attempt to calm her rapidly beating heart and ease her adrenaline spike, Sakura turned away and forced her shaking hands to look busy cleaning her surgical instruments.

She hadn't realized that he had watched her and Kisame fight the month before. She fought down another shudder, the scream that had ripped through the air when she'd wounded Samehada still made the hair on the back of her neck stand up.

"It wasn't difficult. Tsunade-sama taught me how to siphon chakra out of almost anything. It's useful for surgery-"

She glanced up and her words died in her throat as she took in Orochimaru's livid expression. He took a deep breath, his expression daring her to speak.

"So, Tsunade is still your master, hm?"

Inwardly, she cursed herself for slipping up. He  _hated_ it when she referred to the Hokage with respect.

Thinking quickly, she forced her face into an expression of guilt. "Sorry, old habits die hard.  _Tsunade_ taught me how to harden my own chakra and unravel any chakra that comes in contact with it. Kind of like a shield, but it's more of an offensive technique."

He softened immediately, his ego placated for the moment. "I found it very interesting. Kabuto also expressed an interest in working with the technique. It could prove useful in my endeavors. Teach him."

She nodded, trying to act as if she hadn't been frightened to her core by his sudden change in mood. She could handle his mood swings most of the time, but there was something about the way that his aura changed when he was angry that made every cell in her body panic.

He reminded her of silk over iron. She couldn't afford to become comfortable; he would rip her to shreds when he tired of her. It was just a matter of time.

_Breathe, Sakura._

Trying to calm herself, Sakura crossed her arms and dropped easily into medic mode. "You need to keep that arm rested. If you use any of your cursed jutsus, I'll know. Unless you want it to drop off mid- hand sign, leave it alone."

He pouted, inspecting the voluminous dressings that covered his arm from fingertip to shoulder. "You take all of the fun out of my day, flower."

"You can perform hand seals with one hand, so you'll do just fine," she said lightly, watching as he stood and swept out of the room. She flinched as the door slammed, rooted to the spot.

She let out a long breath, filled with relief.  _I hate it when he shows up and wrecks my day._

_"I can't wait to kill him."_  Sasuke flapped his wings and hopped from her bookshelf to her desk. She regarded him reproachfully, crossing her arms.

"Keep your mouth shut. And Naruto's going to be the one to do it."

_"Not if I get to him first."_

"You need a body for that. Unless you've come up with any brilliant ideas over the last hour, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing."

He was as cocky as ever. She knew that he had a reason to be proud of his skills as a shinobi, but a crow couldn't defeat a Sannin.

"Go outside for a bit. I have something to do."

_"I'll scout for Itachi. Don't do anything stupid."_

He spread his wings and flapped out the window without a backwards glance. Sakura sighed again and grabbed one of the scrolls from of the top shelf of her bookcase. Easing into the hallway, she steeled herself for what she was about to do.

* * *

Itachi sheathed his katana, his sharingan flooding away. His dark eyes surveyed the scene before him, his expression giving away no hint of the turmoil raging within him. He closed his eyes briefly, searching for inner calm.

Bodies littered the ground, the dirt turning to dark mud as blood trickled across the battleground. He looked away, having already committed the image of the massacre to memory.

_I won't make the same mistake again._

He couldn't kill Hidan, but he sure as hell wanted to. Glancing in distaste at his current teammate sprawled in the middle of a crude pentagon; he made the wise decision to walk away.

In service to Konoha, he had done some terrible things. He would be the first person to admit that. It was becoming very obvious that most ANBU missions were child's play compared to the lengths that the Akatsuki would go to, human life was worth nothing to them.

When pressed, Itachi would defend himself, but he preferred to avoid killing anyone if he could help it.

The shinobi who Hidan had just slaughtered were barely more than children.

He took a deep breath, finally settling into an icy calm.

Itachi's plan had simply been to temporarily incapacitate the monks and walk away with the document, but Hidan clearly had other ideas.

_I only stepped away for a moment, and now their blood is on my hands._

Distantly, he wondered if Sakura would be able to see it. Glancing down, he was both relieved and disappointed that his hands weren't shining with dark blood.

Sakura would try to kill Hidan if she was here with him, and he felt a pang of guilt shoot through him.  _The mission is paramount; killing him too soon would jeopardize everything._

He pocketed the scroll that had cost the lives of so many, making a mental note to read it before he gave it over to Orochimaru. Spying a spade at the corner of the temple garden, he began to dig.

He wasn't going to leave the bodies open to the elements. He owed them that much, although it was a poor substitute for the help that he should have offered.

If he hadn't split off from Hidan to scout the area, the acolytes would still be alive. That fact was yet another mark on his already tortured conscience, he supposed. He worked with a cold fury, his movements almost blurring as dirt flew up in clouds around him.

The work took him barely an hour, and he finished gently smoothing over the last of the graves with a slightly lighter heart. He was covered in dirt up to his elbows, and the sting of his blistered hands gave him some comfort.

Stepping back to survey his handiwork, he counted the graves.  _Seventeen people lost their lives here._

"You will be avenged," he murmured quietly, thrusting the spade into the ground by his feet and turning on his heel. His mud-stained Akatsuki robe swirled out behind him, and not for the first time, he glared at the red cloud patterned garment.

_Death-bringers. The lot of us._

Without another backwards glance, he took off at a run. Hidan could catch up later, once he was done his arcane ritual.

Itachi had seen all that he could take. Turning his attention northwards, he made his way back to the hideout.

Back to Sakura.

* * *

Sakura knew exactly where Deidara was. His workshop was constantly echoing with the blast of dynamite, and she could almost see the clouds of sulfur and saltpeter hanging in the air. Waving the offending odors away, she knocked on the door to his quarters.

It flew open almost immediately, and she smirked at the annoyed expression on his face. "Oh, it's you, hm."

"Yeah, how's the burn?" She asked nonchalantly, holding her palm up for emphasis. He sighed and presented the still-burned tongue on his right hand.

"It stings like a motherfucker. But you already knew that, hm?"

"Stop trying to blow things up with that hand for now."

"My art won't wait, Sakura. I blame your boyfriend!"

She chuckled, following him as he stomped into the workshop. "Itachi won't hold back next time, maybe you shouldn't try to kill him again."

"He got on my nerves! I won't let anyone insult my art, hm."

Sakura took a moment to appraise the art that littered the room. She was pleasantly surprised to find that some of the sculptures weren't made of explosive clay.  _That's perfect._

"I wouldn't dream of it," she said absentmindedly, leaning over to inspect a realistic statue of Orochimaru, "When did you make this?"

"A week ago, don't look at it! It's riddled with flaws, hm."

She appraised it honestly, her brain working at top speed. "No, it's really good."

"Is it?" His tone was still flat, but she could see that there was a tiny bounce in his step as he puttered around the room. She continued to walk around, taking stock of the caliber of his work. She already knew that he was more than up for the task. The difficult part would be to convince him to make something that she wanted.

_Oh well, guess I'll give it a shot._

"Can I commission you to make something for me?"

"You're too flat-chested for a good statue, hm."

She felt a flash of annoyance, crossing her arms over her chest. "Not of me, I want you to make one of Sasuke Uchiha!"

That piqued his curiosity, and he stopped rummaging around in a cupboard to peer over at her. His long blond hair swung in his face and he slapped it away impatiently as his face came alight. "Why?"

"I never got to mourn him properly, so a statue is the next best thing to a gravestone." She shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant.

His eyes narrowed, and he heaved a sigh. "Nah. I have too much to do, hm."

"It would annoy Itachi," she entreated, a flash of triumph shooting through her as his shoulders stiffened.

"Yeah?"

"Oh yeah." She grinned, brandishing the scroll that she'd brought with her. "I got Konan to draw his likeness in here. It'll make Itachi extremely jealous."

She was lying through her teeth, but Deidara didn't seem to care. "I…might be able to fit that into my busy schedule…maybe!"

His tone was bright; she'd managed to appeal to his ego. "Great! You're the only artist that I would trust with something as important as this."

He disappeared into another room for a moment and she could hear some sort of banging and crashing as he moved things around. He reappeared almost immediately, struggling under the weight of a large slab of clay. He frogmarched to an empty block of marble and slammed the clay down on it with a loud squelch.

"Leave the scroll there. I'm obviously the best choice for the job! Don't insult me by asking anyone else, hn."

"I wouldn't do that to you. Let me heal your hand some more, it'll help."

She was struggling to contain her excitement. If Deidara could make a golem for Sasuke they were one step closer to getting him into a body of his own. He shoved his hand towards her, already impatiently unrolling the scroll. He sighed in relief as she eased healing chakra into his blistered skin; obviously he was in more pain that he had let on.

"There." She released him, and he flapped his hands impatiently at her.

"Go! I'll call for you when it's done, hm."

Sakura felt a grin spreading over her face, already moving towards the door. "Thanks!"

Closing the great stone door behind her, she leaned against it for a moment, elation bubbling through her veins.  _Won't Sasuke and Itachi be surprised?_

Taking a deep breath and trying to school her features into a mask of disinterest, she took a step towards the adjacent courtyard where Kisame and Kakuzu basked in the sun.

She nearly jumped out of her skin as Kabuto's quiet voice echoed out of the shadows behind her. "Sakura, can I have a word?"

She let out a strangled laugh, running a hand through her hair. Sakura hadn't even sensed him walking up behind her, and her heartbeat thundered in her ears.

"Kabuto! Yeah, sure. What's up?"

"Your secret's out."

"What?" Her blood ran cold, and she could feel the telltale ice of adrenaline flooding into her system.

_No!_

"You didn't seriously think that you could keep a secret from Orochimaru, did you?"


	25. Retribution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura couldn't have prepared for the consequences of her actions.

Sakura felt the cold stone hit her back as she took a step away from Kabuto. Her heartbeat thundered in her ears and she bit back the urge to get defensive.

"Uh, a secret?"

Inwardly, she cringed. Her voice was about an octave higher than it normally was, due to her sudden panic.

He didn't answer for a moment, simply watched her over his glasses.

Raising his eyebrow in confusion when she didn't offer any more information, he sighed and adjusted them. "Your ninjutsu. I thought you didn't use it."

She let out a long breath, trying hard to be nonchalant. "Oh, right. Yeah I don't use it that often, but that doesn't mean that I can't."

He chuckled, crossing his arms. She found herself relaxing slightly, relieved that he hadn't guessed any of her actual secrets.

"I thought you were all about the straight and narrow, but I guess you aren't opposed to using some pretty nasty forbidden jutsus," he drawled, indicating with a jerk of his head towards where Kisame was sitting.

"My jutsu wasn't  _nasty_ ; I was defending myself when he got serious."

"Sakura, you could have killed him without much effort. I couldn't believe what I was seeing."

Sakura flushed, hugging her arms to her chest. "I use that one for surgeries, it just so happened that Samehada is vulnerable to it."

Still smirking, he turned on his heel and gestured for her to follow him into a passageway. "Whether or not your techniques have medical applications, you've got some tricks up your sleeve. Orochimaru-sama would like you to teach me the draining one that you used."

She followed him into the dimly lit corridor, blinking hard. She was having trouble seeing in the dark after leaving the bright sunlight of the courtyard.

"He mentioned it to me a little while ago. I can teach you the basics, but without the scroll that I learned from I can't show you the next stages."

Sakura lied easily, hoping that he would take her word for it.  _I don't want Orochimaru anywhere near the last two stages of this jutsu._

She forced her muscles to relax, knowing all too well that Kabuto was observant. Her strange behavior would only make him suspicious; the last thing that she needed was for him to actually figure out what was going on.

_Sasuke's life depends on it._

"That's fine. Subject 8547 will respond readily to whatever you used, I just need it to keep him under control."

"Under control? Who is this guy?"

Kabuto let out a dark laugh, and the hair on Sakura's arms stood straight up at the sound. "He's a little…feisty. He's the source of the curse marks."

At this, Sakura's ears pricked up. She couldn't help her curiosity; Tsunade would be thrilled if she could figure out how the curse marks worked. Or better yet, figure out how to destroy them.

"There's a source? I thought Orochimaru had created them himself."

"In a way, he did. There's some rather complicated senjutsu involved, but the important bit is the mutagens from that test subject."

"And he doesn't want to give them?" Sakura asked cautiously, growing more and more apprehensive as they descended into the tunnels beneath the base.

She hated this area of the hideout; it was dark and smelled like death. It was no wonder, considering what went on in the underground labs.

She found her thoughts centering on the curse marks.  _I've never seen one in action._

Mutagens weren't something that she had any experience with, but the idea certainly intrigued her.

"Oh he's willing, that's not the issue. He has a tendency to fly into destructive rages." Kabuto grabbed a torch from a wall bracket, waving her down a winding stairwell.

"Temper tantrums?" Sakura chuckled, running a hand through her hair and following him. The sound of their sandals echoed off the walls, their feet raising puffs of fine dust as they descended into the depths.

"The kind of uncontrollable rage that killed the last medic we brought in." Kabuto's voice was muffled; he was facing towards the darkness beyond. But she didn't miss the warning in his tone, she fell silent.

He glanced over his shoulder a moment later, the ghost of a smile on his lips. "But with your technique I think we can make a lot more progress with him."

She nodded slowly, lost in thought.  _I could kill him, but what good would that do? Would it actually hurt Orochimaru if I destroyed the source of the curse marks? He might have enough reserves to last him years._

They walked for a long time, and Sakura gave up trying to calculate how far under the surface they were.

The base was a hollowed out mountain, the tunnels underneath ran for miles in every direction. She wasn't sure how far down they went, but given that they had their own hot spring in the western corner of the complex she would guess that it was at least several hundred feet.

Finally, Kabuto stopped in front of a dark, rusty metal door with the label GoR73227 scratched into the surface. "That's the mutagen lab. We'll come back to it after you meet our friend."

"Is he likely to attack us?"

"No, not at all. You'll see what I mean when you meet him."

Although she was extremely curious, Sakura held in her questions as he led her down a side hallway and up a flight of stairs. She was surprised when they entered a spacious cavern.

It had been hollowed out and smoothed over; she couldn't see a jagged edge anywhere. A single beam of bright light shone through an air vent, and she was unnerved to see that they couldn't have been more than a hundred feet below the surface. After travelling in the tunnels for nearly half an hour she was disoriented; she didn't like that one bit.

Kabuto walked towards the center of the room, his stride confident and self-assured. Sakura followed, keeping a distance of several feet between them in case the test subject flew into a rage.

"Juugo, I've brought someone to meet you. Sakura will be helping me to find an antidote for your condition."

Sakura's eyes widened as a tall, broad-shouldered figure stepped into the beam of light. His fiery hair and hulking appearance gave her pause as she appraised him.

_This is the guy?_

"Hello, Sakura. It's nice to finally meet you," he said, his voice surprisingly soft.

He moved closer, and Sakura almost took a nervous step backwards to avoid him. He paused, then reached down and rattled the large chain that was attached to his left ankle. "I didn't mean to frighten you, I won't come any closer."

"No, it's okay," she said quietly, unable to take her eyes off of the reinforced metal manacle that chained him to the ground. "You're just not quite what I expected."

He smiled gently, settling into a comfortable cross-legged position on the ground. The sunlight lit up his hair brilliantly, giving him the illusion of an angelic halo. "I see that you heard about my rages. I can't control them, but that's why I'm here."

"So that Orochimaru can find a cure..?" Sakura asked slowly, still unsure if he was serious.

It was one thing for a person to join Orochimaru's organization, but quite another thing altogether to allow the Sannin to experiment on them.

She suppressed a shudder, remembering the horrific surgeries she'd already had to perform to save the lives of several other of Orochimaru's test subjects. She couldn't erase the images from her mind, and even recalling those memories made her nauseous.

"Yes. I came here to stop them. I'm a danger to other people," he shrugged, obviously used to being chained up. "It's good that I'm kept away."

Sakura nodded, already warming up to the man. He certainly didn't seem dangerous, but she knew better than to judge him by his outward appearance.

She took a few steps toward him, her hand already shimmering with chakra. "May I?"

He nodded, reaching out with a massive hand towards her. She took it, marveling at how his hand completely dwarfed hers. She concentrated hard and let her chakra run from her body into his. Her chakra traveled quickly through his skin, and she couldn't hold in her shocked gasp at how much raw energy he had stored in his body.

_If that was weaponized, it could level the mountain that we're standing under. Holy shit._

His soft chuckle almost made her jump out of her skin, and she smiled weakly at him. "That's quite the chakra concentration you've got there. That's the senjutsu that Kabuto mentioned?"

"Yeah. You could say that it's my curse."

She looked him directly in the eyes, already reassured that he was a good person, despite what Kabuto had said. "I understand. I'll teach Kabuto to calm your rages."

"Thank you."

She was struck by the sincerity in his tone, and she felt her expression softening. "You're welcome."

There was something about him that reminded her of home, and she had to forcibly remind herself that she had a mission to take care of.

Kabuto cleared his throat, and Sakura started. She smiled sheepishly at him, realizing that she'd been staring intently at Juugo.

"Oh I'm so sorry! I promise I'm not usually this rude," she said quickly, crossing her arms self-consciously. "Your chakra is so unique that it caught me off guard."

Shrugging, Juugo indicated with a flap of his huge hand that he didn't mind. "I'm used to it. You'll find that I'm not one to judge."

"I'm going to show her to the lab. In the meantime, Orochimaru-sama would like to try the most recent serum out, are you feeling up to it tomorrow?" Kabuto cut in, already moving towards the door.

Sakura's brow furrowed, her curiosity was reaching the boiling point. Her thoughts were interrupted by Juugo's affirmation, his deep voice startling her out of her reverie.

"I'm at his service."

Kabuto nodded, clearly pleased. "Excellent. Now, Sakura, we have some work to do."

Turning on her heel, she followed him out of the cavern. She stole a glance over her shoulder, just in time to see Juugo re-enter the darkness.

Hours later, she wearily ascended the last set of stairs. Kabuto had proven himself an excellent student, and she was starting to regret teaching him to siphon chakra. He was progressing rapidly, already capable of inflicting massive damage.

_There's no way that I'm teaching him the next stages. I don't even want to think about how much long-distance destruction he could inflict. If he wasn't Orochimaru's disciple, Tsunade-sama would have considered teaching him._

_If he wasn't so cold-blooded, that is._

_I need to be careful about which jutsus I use. Outside of the medical context they're too dangerous to teach anyone. I need to downplay what I can do; it might save my life if things get nasty. Unlike Itachi, my life doesn't currently depend on how lethal I appear._

Sakura sighed, forcibly reminding herself of who she was working with. If Kabuto's intentions were to help and heal people, he was doing a piss-poor job of proving himself to be an empathetic human being.

She knew that he obviously connected with Orochimaru's test subjects, but it wouldn't be difficult for him to kill them immediately if that's what his master wanted.

He was just as much of a predator as the other members of the Akatsuki.

She made a mental note to slow down his lessons and stretched.

The sound of wings flapping above her interrupted her thoughts, and she glanced up to see Sasuke drifting down from an outcropping of rock.

"Hey!"

_"You were gone a long time,"_  he said accusingly, settling onto her shoulder with little hesitation.

"Sorry, I got sidetracked. Kabuto needed me to teach him something."

_"What?"_

She darted a glance around. She couldn't see or sense anyone, but they were probably being watched. "Not here."

Sasuke croaked his agreement and they set off down a side corridor. Finally reaching her lab room, she stepped inside and barred the door.

_"Kabuto wants to learn the jutsu that Orochimaru mentioned."_

"Yes, exactly. That's not the craziest part." She sat down in her desk chair, absentmindedly tapping a pen against her palm. "The reason why is super interesting."

_"Just tell me, stop wasting my time."_

She shot an annoyed glance at him, but he turned his tail to her and hopped onto the top of her bookshelf and then to the windowsill.

"The source for the curse marks is a person. He apparently flies into these uncontrollable rages and Kabuto wants to use my jutsu to pull enough chakra out of his body so that he can return to his normal state."

_"What kind of rages are you talking about?"_

"I'm not sure," she chewed her lip, anxious about what Juugo was potentially capable of. "I haven't seen it. But if Kabuto's description is anything to go by, I'd say that he's dangerous as hell."

_"Hm. The curse marks are dangerous by themselves."_

"You've seen one in action?"

_"Yeah, once. Shisui and I went out on an Intel mission a few years ago and had to deal with one."_

Sakura didn't miss the slight hesitation before he used his cousin's name. He hadn't taken the news of Shisui's death well.

"What happened?" Sakura sat straight up, every muscle tensed.

_"It's difficult to explain. One minute he was normal, and the next it was like he'd transformed into some sort of demon. Shisui put him down quickly, but one hit could have killed him if he'd gotten in the way."_

"Kabuto explained that Juugo provides mutagens that Orochimaru combines with senjutsu. I'm curious as to what happens when he loses control," she mused, settling back and crossing her arms.

_"Let's hope you never have to find out. Are you going to kill him?"_

She sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "I don't know. He seems like a good guy, but he's helping Orochimaru of his own free will. That makes him dangerous."

_"I could argue that you're doing the same thing."_  He flapped his wings, preening as she stared at him in shock.

"Sasuke, that's not fair."

_"Don't get defensive; it's the reality of what you and Itachi are doing. By the way, he's on his way back; he'll be here in a few hours."_

She shot to her feet, thoroughly annoyed. "Why didn't you tell me?"

_"You didn't give me a chance."_

Throwing up her hands in frustration, she turned on her heel and left the room. He stared after her for a moment, and then took off from the windowsill. He spiraled upwards until he could see the entire hideout laid out below him.

* * *

Naruto yawned, trying and failing to ignore his exhaustion. He had been sitting in the same room for ages, going over Tsunade's missives to Gaara with a fine-toothed comb.

Konoha and Suna were quietly preparing to go to war. Gaara was already recalling his shinobi troops from the surrounding countries, something that Shikamaru had orchestrated.

It was happening slowly to prevent any of Fugaku's spies from catching wind of their plans. Naruto was ashamed to admit that he was growing impatient.

He took a long drink of water, trying to clear his head.  _All of this military strategy is making my brain hurt._

Glancing to his left, he wasn't surprised to see that Shikamaru looked as energetic as he had when they'd started.

"Hey, are you still working on that fortification plan?" He asked, running a hand through his hair.

Shikamaru looked up and shrugged. "I finished hours ago. I'm working on the calculations for the sealing jutsus that the Hokage wanted built."

"Oh." Naruto stretched, grinning sheepishly. "I might go and see how Ino's doing with Raiton. The old lady's got me on interrogation duty tonight."

"It's fine that you don't want to work with the logistics," Shikamaru replied drily, "but sometime you're gonna need to get that done. I'm not picking up your slack."

Naruto shrugged, already looking longingly out the window. The moon was at its peak, and there was just enough of a breeze to make the air crisp and fresh.  _The perfect kind of night for running around on the rooftops._

Making up his mind, he stood up. "I need a break. I'll get to it eventually."

"Yeah, right."

Shikamaru's response was lost; Naruto had already launched himself out of the window.

Rolling his eyes, he returned to his schematic.

Relishing the feeling of the wind whipping through his hair, Naruto produced seven shadow clones and sent them off in opposite directions. This routine was familiar to him now as he took a detour to the safe house.

He was feeling feisty, so he used one of Kakashi's escape routes to thoroughly confuse anyone who might be following him.

_Left._

_Feint, then right._

_Double back three streets, get up a tree._

_Run back down the tree, take a left._

_Another right._

_Pet the dog at the flower shop, then take another right._

Naruto snickered to himself, patting himself on the back for his erratic route.  _Try and untangle that, Fugaku._

Before Sakura left, he wouldn't have bothered.  There was something about Konoha that had changed after she had escaped; he couldn't quite put his finger on it. It was almost like Konoha was on the verge of exploding, and it would take only the tiniest bit of change to ignite it.

He finally landed on the right street, darting between two houses towards a concealed door.  He knocked quietly, hissing the password that Tsunade had given him just hours before. The door flew open, revealing a very frazzled Ino.

"Get in here!" She hissed, shooting a worried glance out into the darkness. "You just missed a bunch of Uchiha policemen passing through."

Naruto closed the door quietly behind him, grimacing. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya."

She softened immediately, gesturing for him to follow her into the adjacent room. "It's fine. Come to see our friend, huh."

"Yeah, maybe he'll actually have something useful to say today."

She raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He took that as a bad sign.

Entering into the room, Naruto flopped down in the chair opposite to the subject of their interrogation.

"Hiya, Nawa. You gonna talk today?"

He was rewarded with a glare, which didn't surprise him.

He tried a different tactic. "You really should consider talking, the Hokage's pretty lenient. She can offer you protection."

Akihiko Nawa (or Raiton as he preferred to be called) rolled his eyes. "All I had was the damn scroll. Orochimaru didn't tell me anything besides what was written in there. You're barking up the wrong tree."

Naruto frowned, casting a glance at Ino. She nodded, confirming his suspicions.

Stepping forward, Ino braced her arms on the table. "Look, either you've told us all that you know, or you're hiding something. Either way, the truth will come out."

There was a tiny flash of panic in Raiton's eyes, and Naruto's frown deepened. "You're protecting someone, aren't ya?"

Ino glanced at him, her heel digging into his foot as a warning. He got the message, loud and clear.

_Shut up! You're going to ruin all of the work I put into manipulating him!_

He sighed, resigned to the task before him.  Rolling up his sleeves, he cracked his knuckles. "Okay, you can't say that I didn't give you a chance. Neji went after your chakra yesterday, I'm a bit more direct than that."

Ino flinched as his first punch landed on Raiton.   _Oh, that'll be his ribs that cracked._

* * *

Sakura slid the partition open, stepping slowly into the humid air beyond. She concentrated hard, casting a subtle genjutsu over the hot spring; she didn't want her swim to be interrupted by any of the Akatsuki.

She let her chakra flow over the water, signing slowly and deliberately. She certainly wasn't a prodigy at illusions, but she was working hard to improve her abilities. It also helped that Itachi and Sasuke were good teachers.

_Learning from the best can't hurt._

She scanned around, relieved that she might actually have a few moments to herself.

Her first experience in the spring had been less than stellar, thanks to the unwelcome apparition of Hidan and Kisame.

Now, every time she went for a bath, she camouflaged her presence in the water. She made a point to get in and out as quickly as possible, trying to conserve at least some of her dignity.

_Even Naruto would have checked before he showed up. He wouldn't dare waltz in here and act like it was no big deal. These damn criminals think they're exempt from all of the rules._

Finally allowing her shoulders to relax, she began to disrobe, shivering as the steam curled across the long scar that marked her torso.

Itachi had asked her why she hadn't healed it, before they'd left Konoha. She smiled at the memory, a faint blush marking her cheeks as she recalled the conversation.

After wading over to her favorite corner, she eased into the water, sighing in contentment as the heat made its way into her tense muscles. She settled more comfortably into the warmth of the hot spring and closed her eyes.

_Sakura stretched slowly, delighting in the feel of tired muscles and the warmth of Itachi's body. His arm curled around her, his fingers absentmindedly toying with her hair._

_"I forgot that you have a scar," he murmured, his voice rumbling through her as she lay beside him. "Is this when you tell me that you're secretly part of ANBU?"_

_"Hardly. I don't typically whip my shirt off to show anyone. When did you see it?" She replied drily, too relaxed to be self-conscious about the angry red mark. He was a shinobi; of course he understood what battle scars looked like._

_"When you went swimming in the pond, the day after Naruto's injury."_

_"That seems like so long ago, I completely forgot." She shrugged, suddenly reminded of how chaotic their last fortnight had been. "So you were staring at me, huh?"_

_"Hm."_

_"That's what I thought," she teased, playing absentmindedly with a lock of his dark hair._

_"You could so easily have healed it, is there a reason why you keep it?" He murmured, tracing his cool fingers along the length of the scar tissue on her back. She shivered, but not from the cold._

_"It's a reminder," she answered slowly, searching for the right words. "I got it protecting those who are important to me. So it's a part of me now."_

_He nodded, drawing soothing patterns on her skin. "I understand. Who gave it to you?"_

_"Sasori of the Red Sand," she answered quietly, her stomach clenching uncomfortably with the memory._

_"Right. That explains why you and Gaara are such good friends."_

_There was something in his tone that made her pause. She laughed softly, propping herself up on one elbow. "Jealous?"_

_"Not after tonight, I'm not," he replied, his eyes glittering with mirth. She grinned, playfully swatting his wandering hands away. "Don't you dare say anything to him!"_

_He rolled his eyes, trapping her hand in his. "He already knows. You're the only one who thinks that it's a secret."_

_"I'm not hiding anything, it's just not the time to scream announcements from the rooftops."_

_"I don't scream, but you, on the other hand-" He cut off as she whacked him with her pillow._

_"Don't tempt me to give you a matching scar!" She threatened, half-outraged and half-amused by his cheeky comment._

_"I'd like to see you try." He leaned forwards and gave her a chaste kiss, then settled back, drawing her close._

_She knew that he was thinking something over, she recognized his pensive silence._

_"Itachi..?"_

_He didn't answer for a moment, and she looked up to see an enigmatic expression on his face. "So that's why Naruto's wound shook you so badly, it's in the same spot as your scar."_

_She was taken aback, she hadn't expected him to make the connection so quickly. "Yeah, I guess it's just an occupational hazard. Does it bother you?"_

_She hated that her voice trembled slightly._

_A frown line appeared between his eyebrows. "Of course not."_

She opened her eyes, taking in the view of the star-lit sky. Tendrils of steam drifted upwards, swirling into whirlpools as a breeze picked up. She found her mind drifting back to Juugo, and she let out a loud sigh. Sakura rolled her eyes in frustration, finding herself unable to relax properly while her mind was spinning.

It was clear to her that she needed to get a message to Naruto. Part of the reason was purely selfish; she was desperate to know if her friends were safe. The other part was purely survival, any information that she could provide might give them an edge against Fugaku.

But she also knew of the danger; if she blew their cover they were as good as dead.

_I can't risk sending a slug unless I'm far away from here._

Impatient for Itachi's return, she grabbed her bar of soap and began to scrub away the day's grime from her skin.

He would bring news of the outside. Whether it was good or bad, she wanted to know,  _needed_  to know.

She tossed her soap onto the ledge and reached for the glass of water that she'd brought with her.

She paused, the water halfway to her lips.  She'd felt a sudden chakra spike, it was too close for comfort.

Sakura glanced up warily as she felt her genjutsu break, her chakra threads immediately searching for signs of the intruder.

Seconds later, she cracked a small smile as she recognized Itachi's chakra. A shiver of excitement thrummed through her body as her heart rate increased.

She stood up abruptly, ignoring the shock of the cold air on her exposed skin.  She wasn't kept waiting long.

Itachi seemed to materialize out of the steam, wading easily through the water. In the moonlight he almost seemed to glow, and she silently watched him move towards her. His stony expression softened when he saw her, and he lengthened his stride.

Without hesitation, she moved to meet him. A bright blush colored her cheeks as he swept her into a tight embrace. She felt weeks of tension melting out of her muscles as his arms wrapped around her. Closing her eyes, she listened to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.

_He's home._

"Itachi," she breathed, noticing immediately that something wasn't quite right with him.

She drew back to look him in the eye, and recognizing the haunted expression that she saw, she gently prompted him to speak. "What happened?"

He brushed away a drop of water as it trickled down her collarbone. "Hidan. He doesn't understand the concept of a non-lethal infiltration."

She closed her eyes briefly; she understood exactly what he meant. "How many?"

"Seventeen." He glanced up at her shocked intake of breath, the look in his eyes telling her all she needed to know. "I stepped away for a moment to scout the temple defenses, that was all the time that he needed."

She let out a shaky breath, already finished the math. "That makes seventy-three lives lost since we've come here."

"You lost three test subjects since I left?"

She fought back a wave of guilt. "Yes. They were so damaged, I could barely ease their pain before they died."

"That number will just keep growing," he muttered, goosebumps erupting along his arms as a cool wind picked up around them. "I'd be a hypocrite if I condemned Hidan for murdering those children."

"You don't kill for pleasure. That's the difference," she said firmly, shivering.

He didn't complain of the cold, he wasn't likely to. His gaze met hers, his expression making her heart ache.

"Come on," she coaxed, taking his hand in hers. "I'm getting cold."

Sakura drew him down until the water with her, settling them back into the nook where she'd been sitting. She felt herself finally relaxing, nestled against his chest.

His presence anchored her, and she hummed contentedly as he pressed a soft kiss on the back of her neck.

They didn't speak for a few moments. Sakura was bursting to tell him about what she'd learned, but quiet moments with Itachi came few and far between these days. She was content to bask in the feeling of his skin against hers for as long as possible.

Too soon, she felt Itachi tense slightly, he was thinking.

He finally broke the silence, his sigh puffing across the back of her neck. "How's Sasuke?"

She was grateful that he changed the subject.

Sakura groaned, rolling her eyes. "He's thriving. The crow suits him too well."

He laughed softly, brushing her hair away from her forehead. "It does. Has anything happened that I should know about?"

"Potentially, but I want to know how the mission went first. Did you find anything interesting?"

"It was more of a wild goose chase than a mission. The scroll we were sent to find was a genealogy of the Land of Fire families."

Sakura frowned, confused by that. "Why would Orochimaru send you for a family tree?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." His lips ghosted along the back of her ear and she shivered. "He's determined to waste my time."

"You and me both," she managed, suddenly finding it very hard to think as she felt his hands trace along her skin. "I do have some news."

"Hm?"

"Deidara is building a statue of Sasuke for me, and I found out how Orochimaru makes his curse marks." Her voice was coming out breathier than she'd expected, Itachi was making it impossible to concentrate.

She grabbed Itachi's wrist, determined to power through her news. "I can't talk if you keep doing that."

His lips curved into a grin against her skin. "Sorry."

"You are not-"

"You're right, I'm not."

She bit her lip, trying and failing to discourage his wandering hands. "You're not listening to me."

"Of course I am. Why is Deidara building a statue? He's never met Sasuke."

"That doesn't matter. I gave him a sketch, but the important thing is that we don't have to find Sasuke a body if we can make one-"

She cut off abruptly, her sharp gasp echoing across the still water.

"Good idea," he murmured, brushing her hair off the back of her neck. "And the curse marks?"

"There's a guy kept in the tunnels under the mountain. They're, um, made from a mutagen that he produces. Kabuto... introduced us this afternoon."

"We can turn that to our advantage."

"Exactly." She let out a long sigh, abruptly turning in his arms to face him.

The glint in his eye discouraged her from scolding him; he knew that she was happy to have him back. "But we can talk about this later."

He raised an eyebrow at her suggestive tone.

She'd had enough of him teasing her and she was determined to give as good as she got.  _Two can play that game._

"Later," he agreed, leaning forward to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him closer.

That's when she splashed him.

* * *

Sakura woke up as a dark wing smacked her in the face. She groaned and swatted Sasuke away, trying to clear her eyes of sleep. She felt Itachi's arms tense around her, and she glanced over her shoulder. His eyes narrowed, his gaze flicking towards the door.

"Someone's coming."

Sakura quickly rolled over and retrieved Itachi's shirt from the foot of the bed. Throwing it on, she barely had time to take a breath before the door slammed open and Orochimaru swept into the room.

Itachi didn't react; he simply regarded the intrusion with thinly veiled irritation. "It's early."

"Sakura needs to leave with Kisame," the Sannin demanded, pacing quickly around the room. "I'm sending them to fetch something for me."

Sakura groaned inwardly, it wasn't a good time for her to leave the hideout. "Where am I going?"

"It's in the Land of Wind. Get moving. I want you back within three days."

He turned on his heel and stalked out of the room, his patterned cloak swirling out behind him.

The door slammed, and Sakura ran a hand over her face. "Well the timing's inconvenient."

Itachi didn't answer for a moment, clearly mulling something over. "Be careful."

She had already moved over to the wardrobe, and she began to pull out her travelling gear. "I'll be fine. What's the worst that could happen?"

He raised an eyebrow and she realized how callous her words had been.

"I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. Kisame is okay, I'm sure it'll be a simple mission."

She quickly dressed, checking that she had everything that she needed. Darting back to the bed, she gave Itachi a lingering kiss before dashing out the door, her hair flying behind her.

_"Orochimaru seems to like keeping you two separated_ ," Sasuke muttered, flapping over to the windowsill.  _"I'll see what I can find out about his plans."_

Itachi nodded his agreement, his gaze never leaving the door. "I have a hunch; find out what you can about his spy network."

Sasuke launched himself out of the window without a backwards glance. " _I've already isolated the weak link."_

"Carefully, Sasuke," Itachi muttered, watching as Sasuke soared across the courtyard.

* * *

Their footsteps echoed off of the stone walls of the canyon.

Sakura yawned, trying and failing to resist it as they ran.  The lack of sleep was really getting to her.  

Her exhaustion drew a dark chuckle from Kisame, and she smirked at him as his face split into a toothy grin. "Well, someone's happy that Uchiha's back."

She laughed, keeping up to his pace with ease. "That obvious, huh."

"Princess, you're not exactly hiding anything."

She felt a flash of irritation at the nickname, having already asked him several times to stop using it. "Kisame, why did Orochimaru pair us together?"

"No idea. Something to do with the asset, probably."

"Asset?"

"Yeah. We're getting a kid from the Land of Wind."

She fell silent, thinking. Her unease seemed to entertain him, she noticed dimly. He chuckled again, shooting an amused glance over his shoulder.

"You're not gonna be able to use logic in this one, Orochimaru doesn't use it all that often."

"He doesn't trust any of us with information, that much is obvious," she sighed, glancing at him through her lashes.  _What isn't he telling me?_

"Get used to it, kid. Information always has a price."

She didn't comment. They ran at a decent pace, stopping only to eat. Sakura felt herself relaxing slightly as they re-entered the woodlands.

While she was concerned that they would run into shinobi who were allied with a hidden village, she also knew that the red-cloud pattern of their cloaks was a clear warning.  _They_   _wouldn't attack an Akatsuki member without good reason._

She would hesitate before attacking anyone, but Kisame had no such qualms. He was as ruthless as his shark familiars were, if his reputation was anything to go by. Having sparred with him, she was sure that the stories weren't far off from the truth.

Sakura wondered what kind of rumours were spreading about her. Forcing those thoughts out of her mind, she absentmindedly scanned the forest for signs of other shinobi.

It was on her sixth scan that she found a group. Throwing her hand up to signal a halt, she landed lightly on a branch. "Kisame, we've got company."

He shrugged, clearly he wasn't concerned. "So what?"

"I'd prefer not to fight them. It would be a waste of chakra."

"You just don't want to have their blood on your hands," he replied, already moving ahead. "We'll split up then. Meet me five miles north of here."

He took off before she had the chance to respond, and she shook her head.  _There's no talking to him, but at least he's not looking for bloodshed._

She moved to avoid the group, camouflaging her chakra and watching as they passed below her.  She listened to their conversation with interest; they reminded her of her genin days.

"We should get back to the village before dark!" The lone kunoichi said shrilly, adjusting her large glasses.

"Nah, we should take our time! When we get back we're gonna be stuck doing paperwork, and I'm already planning to get drunk."

The tallest of the three reminded her of Naruto, all brash energy and foolish bravado. He marched behind the other two, clearly the leader.

She couldn't put her finger on why he seemed so familiar. Sakura shifted silently, peering through the leaves to get a better look at him.

"One of these days you're going to start taking this seriously."

They were leaving, their voices growing fainter as they moved away.

She darted off the branch and leapt in the other direction. She froze in her tracks as the group leader turned around and scanned the forest.

"Wait, did you feel that?" He called, jogging back in Sakura's direction. She felt a flash of panic and doubled her pace.

_It's no good if he caught a flash of my chakra signature. I should have left the second that I saw them._

She held her breath as they searched around them. She had quickly tucked herself into the hollow of a tree stump, counting on the dappled light of the forest to conceal her shadow.

Sakura finally sighed with relief as two of the three shinobi darted away, she was grateful that she wouldn't have to fight. Her relief was cut short; however, when she saw the leader hang back.  _No, keep moving. Don't do anything stupid._

He knew that she was there, even with cloaked chakra. Which could mean only one thing: he knew her.

Her heart leapt into her throat as she finally recognized his spiky hair and distinctive Konohagakure headband. Her own headband felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, she was rooted to the spot.

_That's Konohamaru!_

She heard him call to his teammates and she felt cold dread flood her system as he began to move closer. The other two shinobi took off at top speed, confirming her thoughts.  _He's sending them for reinforcements, this is bad._

She wasn't concerned for her own safety. She knew that she could handle herself; it was the thought of hurting anyone from Konoha that gave her pause.

_I have time to get out of here, but I have to move now!_

Turning to dash into the tree canopy, she cursed herself for not camouflaging her hair as it rippled around her. It was as bright as a beacon, and she could sense Konohamaru's chakra signature moving too quickly in her direction for her to escape.

Her cloak swirled around her as she paused, the heavy weight of the black and red fabric evoking a deep shame in her.

The Akatsuki ring on her left hand had never felt colder and more foreign than it did in this moment.

As long as she wore it, she was a missing-nin, considered a terrorist, a top-level security threat. He was duty-bound to investigate; she knew that he would do everything in his power to bring her back to Konoha.

_He's too damn brave. There's no getting out of this one._

Taking on a member of the Akatsuki alone at his age was suicide, even if he was a Sarutobi. She hoped fervently that she could talk him out of whatever he was planning.

"Sakura!"

_Here we go._

Slowly, she turned to face him fully, wariness causing her to tense in preparation of their conflict.

Recognition flashed in his eyes, and he pointed an accusing finger at her. "What're you doing here, traitor?!"

"Konohamaru, get out of here. What I do and where I go is none of your concern." She hardened her tone, trying to appear aloof.

His face was as expressive as Naruto's, and she felt her conviction wavering as his expression hardened into hatred.  _He really believes that I betrayed Konoha._

"Actually, it is my concern." His voice was deeper than she remembered, and she almost couldn't stop herself from scolding him for his rudeness. She'd spent so long as Tsunade's apprentice that his tone made her uncomfortable.

_He hates me now._

The thought saddened her, and she felt herself stepping forward to talk sense into him. "We're just passing through. Don't do anything stupid."

Her brow furrowed as he let out a dark chuckle, suddenly seeming older than his years. She felt a frisson of unease roll down her spine at the determined look in his eyes.

"I can't do that."

"I know that look. Don't play the hero, Konohamaru. You're just going to get hurt," she pleaded, subtly scanning for signs of Kisame.

As long as she kept Konohamaru isolated, he might survive their confrontation. She weighed the scenarios, finally landing on a plan with the best possible outcome.

"Hero? That's rich, coming from you," he snarled, his chakra spiking as he shifted its nature. She knew him well enough to know that he was on the warpath; there was nothing she could say that could change his mind.

_I just have to knock him out, and then take off. His teammates will come back for him while I lead Kisame west. He'll be harder to take care of the next time I encounter him, but I'd rather he hate me than die because he didn't heed my warning._

"I know you don't want to believe anything that I have to say, but trust me this one last time. You won't get out of this fight unscathed. Back off."

"You're in the bingo book, I have no choice," he growled, dropping into a fighting stance. She stared at him in shock for a second, finally realizing that he meant to hurt her when he whipped a kunai at her head.

She deflected it easily, using strings of chakra to return her own kunai to her hand.

His eyes narrowed, he clearly wasn't sure why she wasn't fighting back.

"Stop it; I don't want to fight you!"

She dodged another flight of kunai, strafing backwards as Konohamaru advanced. He started to weave his fingers into familiar signs, and her palms began to sweat.  _He's going for a lightening release technique; he's in this for real._

Sakura took advantage of his momentary pause to pelt him with explosive tags. She knew that if he was unbalanced for long enough, she could stop his attacks from becoming deadly.

He dodged, taking cover behind a large oak. She took the opportunity to do the same, debating whether or not she should make a run for it. Her hopes were immediately dashed as she smelled the sharp tang of lightening.

She hid behind another tree as a bolt of lightning obliterated her previous hiding spot. Sakura let out a small squeak of surprise and kept moving, determined not to give Konohamaru an easy target.

_He can hit me with a long-distance attack, if I run it won't make a difference._

She heard the telltale 'poof' of the shadow clone jutsu and her stomach clenched.  _A rasengan, I have to stop him before he finishes it!_

Sakura shot chakra into her feet and ran straight up the side of the tree. She launched herself forwards, gathering a measure of chakra into her fist. Making contact with the ground, she grinned as it collapsed around Konohamaru, eliminating his shadow clone and foiling his rasengan technique.

The sound of solid rock shattering rumbled off the distant hills and she made a mental note to hurry and finish the fight.  _There's no way that his reinforcements don't know where we are now._

The raw power of her strike toppled several trees and she strafed backwards, then watched as he darted back to solid ground.

"Now will you listen to me? I don't want to hurt you-" she called, cutting off as a barrage of shuriken whistled towards her.

Groaning with frustration, she fell back again.

"Shut up!" He hollered, and she could see that he was falling back to regroup. _Damn it!_

"Stop wasting your chakra, I'm not your enemy!" She yelled, resisting the urge to pull out some ninjutsu of her own.

_Just keep dodging, keep that a secret for as long as you can._

Sakura was so intent on disarming Konohamaru that she had barely noticed the ominous chakra signature surging towards her.  _Damn!_

Glancing around in a panic, she suddenly felt another body collide with hers, knocking her backwards twenty feet. Flipping to her feet, she skidded to a stop, already in a defensive stance.

_Kisame doubled back! This is bad!_

"Kisame, leave him alone-"

"Stand back, Princess. I got this." Kisame chuckled, sending a shot of fear straight through her. He un-shouldered Samehada, already loosening the bandages that kept the blade sealed.

"Kisame, no! He's mine!"

"Take a breather," he grunted, swinging the giant blade with little effort. Konohamaru had stopped moving towards them, but Sakura didn't let herself relax as she darted forwards.

"Konohamaru, you'll die if you fight Kisame, go-"

She cut off as Konohamaru launched himself into the air, lightning flickering in a nimbus around his body. Kisame responded in kind, and she watched in horror as they aimed to collide.

" _Kisame, stop!_ "

Sakura snapped forwards, intent on intercepting Kisame before he got to Konohamaru. Time seemed to slow, and her sandals gripped the ground as she exploded upwards. Her cloak flapped around her legs, and she didn't even think before she launched herself higher into the air.

Gathering her chakra into her arms and signing as quickly as her hands were able to move, she activated her chakra siphon jutsu.

She counted the heartbeats as she drew closer to Kisame.

_One._

_Two._

_Three._

_Four._

_Move it!_

Even with chakra-charged legs, she wasn't fast enough to knock Konohamaru out of the way.

She collided with Kisame a split second after Samehada had touched the Konohagakure shinobi, the breath whooshing out of her lungs from the impact.

Kisame had already flipped the blade to the broad edge, exposing Konohamaru's entire right side to the vacuum effect of the weapon. She knew that she was too late, and Samehada let out a satisfied shriek as it sucked the chakra out of its victim.

She twisted in the air, punting Kisame backwards and severing Samehada's contact.

But the damage was done.

Samehada was twice its normal size; the amount of chakra that had been absorbed was more than enough to kill most shinobi. The force of Kisame's hit had launched Konohamaru in the air, dragging him along the length of the cursed blade.

The kid had screamed at the contact, and the raw agony of the sound was so piercing that Sakura was paralyzed by it.

She watched in horror as he hit the ground with a sickening crunch, and Sakura found herself transfixed by the glassy, vacant look in his eyes.

"No!"

She landed hard, ignoring the pain that shot through her shins. Desperate to save him, she darted over to his still form, turning him over as she forced chakra into his system.

She screamed as the chakra surge released his lightening type chakra, electrocuting her as it dissipated. Her body felt like it was being stabbed with a thousand needles, and she could feel her heart skip several beats as the electricity surged through her body.

Her vision went white for a few seconds as she fought to stay conscious, her hand reaching out for him again.

_Konohamaru!_

She was too late.

He let out a choked gasp as the life faded from him, his chest rising and falling swiftly one last time before he died.

She felt a scream leave her throat, grief overwhelming every one of her senses. The sound ripped through the forest, startling a flock of birds into flight. She couldn't help the sobs that wracked her body; her emotions were rioting too violently to control.

Because of her, Konohamaru was the first casualty of the coming war.


	26. Grief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something isn't right with Fugaku. Tsunade learns something unexpected about Raiton. Sakura deals with the aftermath of Konohamaru's death.

Fugaku took a deep, calming breath. He straightened his back, closed his eyes and focused on his breathing. He remained that way for the better part of an hour, contemplating. His hands didn't tremble when he meditated, it was a welcome reprieve.

The ringing in his ears was hard to ignore, however, but he eased his mind into a state of calm. It was such a constant that he could still function.

And yet, he found himself increasingly jittery and anxious as the afternoon wore on.

He would have completely lost his mind if his vision had degraded entirely. Fugaku blinked absently, still feeling as though his eyes were foreign to him.

Reminding himself to focus, he turned his attention inwards.

He ignored the sounds coming from the bustling street outside of his home; it was still undergoing repairs from the damage that the Haruno girl had wrought. A flash of frustration clouded over his thoughts once again, and he forced himself to relax. His mind coursed over the stages of his plan, everything was back on schedule.

He was getting fidgety, as he always did in the evenings.

_Despite Tsunade's best efforts to undermine my authority with the council, I will regain the upper hand shortly._

Finally, he opened his eyes as the door to his office swung open. Ever punctual, his steward entered with his evening meal. Eying the steaming cup of tea that accompanied his food, he fixed his gaze on it and dismissed his servant. He was reaching for it before the tray was set on the mahogany table.

The odour of the tea was pungent, but he ignored it as his mouth began to water.

"I will require another cup within the next hour, see to it."

His relieved inhalation was obvious; his hand was already closing over the small china cup and raising it to his lips with no hesitation.

The trembling in his fingers was noticeable.

He didn't notice the small smirk that colored the expression of the steward as he bowed, and then silently closed the door behind himself.

Fugaku drank deeply, draining the tea to the last drop. The bitter drink made him grimace, but he couldn't stop himself once he started. He sucked in a shaky breath, flexing his hands.

The tremors ebbed away, and he replaced the cup on the table with a clatter. His evening ritual for the last eighteen years was the only thing that got him through the day.

He was already craving the next cup.

Glancing around at the empty room before him, he allowed himself a moment of loneliness. His sons and his wife would never again join him for dinner.

It was a bitter pill to swallow.

_"Your symptoms are getting stronger."_

He ran a hand over his face, forced to agree. "I know, Mikoto."

Glancing up through his lashes, he appraised the apparition. She looked as lovely as ever, her shimmering form making his eyes ache. "I don't understand why my body is weakening; the tea is the only thing that helps."

_"It consumes you, Fugaku. You are an addict."_

He bristled, impatient to correct her. She was always so judgmental, but he knew deep down that she was right.

"Nothing consumes me, I control it. I drink this soothing tea by choice."

_"You make a great many choices, it would be wise to inspect your motivations. A great many things may become clear to you, starting with your brother's death."_

Her voice was soft, but he didn't miss the steel underneath her tone. She had always been able to see through his façade of strength.

"Mikoto…"

She didn't speak for a moment, and he lifted his head, his expression pained. "Have I made too many mistakes? Is it my guilt that traps you here?"

Not for the first time, he saw Sasuke's silhouette standing beside hers, his eyes filled with the pain of Fugaku's treachery. He was silently grateful that Shisui had not joined them today; it was becoming too difficult to ignore the melancholy that the shades elicited.

She smiled gently, shimmering away into nothing.  _"How could I answer that? You have turned your back on your family, Fugaku. Perhaps you should pray that your betrayal will be worth it."_

He sat silently for a long moment, thinking about her words. The sting of her cold remark was eased somewhat as he hardened his resolve.

"It must be worth it. I admitted weakness in front of the council, there will be talk. Tsunade will see to that. I must ensure my family's legacy."

He braced his arms on the table, waiting for the nausea and ringing in his ears to fade away. Forcing himself to his feet, he began to pace.

From the hallway, the steward listened carefully, noting with satisfaction that Fugaku was talking to himself again. He made his way back to the kitchen, stowing a small envelope of powder in his pocket.

He placed the kettle on the stove, preparing another cup of tea for Fugaku. Coughing at the acrid scent of the rapidly dissolving powder, he stirred a small whirlpool into the water.

_My master will be expecting a report. All is well here, thanks to his guidance._

* * *

Tsunade pursed her lips. She watched as Naruto ran the drill again, his movements blending so smoothly that he almost blurred.

He finished the pattern quickly, finally turning to face her with a grin. "Okay, that one was better, right?"

"Yes, but you're going to need to be faster."

"Huh?" His jaw dropped, his eyes widening. "How the hell am I going to do that faster? I'm already doubling my regular pace. I'm faster than Kakashi-sensei!"

Tsunade set her own jaw, tapping her foot impatiently. "But you're slower than Guy. You're going to need to do it faster while you're being attacked. If you can do it within half a minute we might have a chance to surprise Orochimaru."

"There's no way that he can see what I'm up to," he grumbled, stretching and preparing to run the drill again.

"He made this jutsu, so he sure as hell can tell what you're doing if he can track your movements," she almost snapped, her exhaustion getting the better of her.

"Fine, fine." He ran a hand through his fluffy hair and turned to reset the components of the seal.

Tsunade and Shikamaru had been working for weeks to convert one of the old training grounds into a huge sealing jutsu circle. They had placed carefully carved rock pillars and oddly shaped rocks around the perimeter, forming the basic pattern. It was up to Naruto to activate the sequence and use their combined blood to power the seal.

Tsunade could control it once it was activated, but she needed to be able to hold off Orochimaru and his lackeys at the same time; something that would be impossible by herself.

"Naruto, I had Lee make you another pair of weights. If you can move fast enough with these on, you'll be nearly as fast as your father. That's what we need to pull these off." She reached into her shoulder bag, drawing out the weighted shin guards.

Naruto's eyebrows almost disappeared into his headband as he calculated the amount of weight that he was about to strap to his legs. "Oh man."

Tsunade chuckled, crossing her arms. "Come on kid, give it one try-"

"Hokage-sama, I'm sorry to interrupt."

She cut off, surprised by the arrival of Neji; he didn't make a sound as he swung down from a tree branch. Tsunade rolled her eyes, not shocked by his ability to sneak around her ANBU agents.

"Neji, what's happened?"

The training ground was heavily guarded, with as many agents as possible stationed around the perimeter. She doubted that Fugaku would recognize what they were doing, but she didn't want to take that chance.

"Neji-" Naruto raised his hand in greeting, but stopped mid-sentence as he caught sight of Neji's expression. "Whoa, what happened?"

"Raiton broke."

"Huh?" Tsunade couldn't help herself; she raised an eyebrow in confusion. "How, when?"

Neji's lips turned up in the ghost of a smile. "About an hour ago, Ino came up with the plan. Her suspicion was that he was protecting someone, so we threatened him with retribution."

Naruto scratched his head, staring sheepishly at his bandaged knuckles. "I guess I should have tried that before I beat the shit out of him so many times."

Tsunade grinned wolfishly, indicating that they should follow her to where they couldn't be overheard. Entering into a grove of trees that was completely surrounded by her honour guard, she gestured for Neji to continue. "Excellent. What did you learn?"

"Firstly, he knows nothing. He didn't start working with Fugaku until just over five months ago."

Tsunade's brow furrowed, and her expression darkened into a scowl. "The timing doesn't make sense if he's an Uchiha operative. My information wasn't accurate."

"He was recruited six months ago, but not willingly."

Tsunade sucked in a shocked breath, pacing angrily. "He has a family, doesn't he?"

"Yes, a daughter. She's being kept somewhere in the Land of Wind. Orochimaru kept her as a bargaining chip."

Tsunade spun around, her furious gaze resting on the shinobi. "To what end? What the hell is Orochimaru planning?"

"He doesn't know. He did know about the scroll, but despite training with Lady Chiyo in Suna a decade ago, his skills are roughly equivalent to a pharmacist's. He's a red herring. The name Raiton is a code name, the agents seem to disappear every six months or so."

Tsunade balled her hands into fists, taking a deep breath to calm her anger. "Naruto, get a message to Sakura. I don't care if Fugaku knows; we have a bigger problem to deal with. "

"Uh, okay. What do you think Orochimaru's planning?"

Her expression drained him of hope.

"I have no idea. It may be time to make a social call."

Her thoughts were interrupted by Kakashi's silent arrival. He waved, nodding his way past the ANBU agents stationed around the clearing. Tsunade couldn't see his face (as per usual), but she could tell by the set of his shoulders that he'd found out something of some concern.

"Kakashi, you're just in time," she said smoothly, gesturing at Naruto. "I need you to take over for now."

"I'll get right on that. But you're going to want to get over to the tower as soon as you can."

"Why?" Tsunade felt a trickle of fear wind its way into her veins. She knew by his tone that something was seriously wrong.

"Hokage-sama, I'm afraid that we just received a messenger bird. You may want to get Asuma over there. A certain blue-skinned Akatsuki member has been spotted in Wind country with a pink-haired companion.  Konohamaru's not back yet with Gaara's intelligence report, all we know is that they're on the move." 

He very deliberately didn't use any names.  

Tsunade knew that something was wrong.  She could feel it in her bones.  

* * *

Sakura was frozen, her body completely drained of strength. She raised her eyes, dimly hearing Kisame's raised voice.

It wasn't until he shook her that she came to her senses.

"Hey! We don't have time for this, get your ass moving!"

She stared at him, not understanding what he was talking about. Her gaze slowly returned to Konohamaru, lying lifeless in her arms. He looked so young, the set of his face reminding her so much of Naruto that she felt her heart twist again.

She didn't even notice that she was weeping. Everything felt muted, and she tightened her arms around Konohamaru, determined to mourn him. Growling with frustration, Kisame made a split-second decision and scooped her into his arms.

She felt her body react, clawing at him like a feral animal. Sakura felt Konohamaru slip from her grip, and she redoubled her efforts to win free from Kisame. She felt the strain in her vocal chords as she shrieked in outrage.

Sakura forced chakra into her limbs, preparing to fight Kisame for real. She dropped her weight suddenly, letting her characteristic strength sing through her body. She managed to catch Kisame off guard enough that she threw him over her shoulder. He landed with a whoosh of air; she'd clearly knocked the wind out of his lungs.

She was already darting back to Konohamaru's body. She heard Kisame jump to his feet, and she doubled her pace.

She intended to take Konohamaru back to Konoha; after all, it was because of her that he was dead. The guilt felt like acid in her veins, and she spun into a powerful roundhouse kick, catching Kisame's jaw with her heel.

He grunted in pain and stepped back, giving her another few seconds to get to Konohamaru. As she bent to carry his body over her shoulders, she glanced up to see Kisame bearing down on her. She didn't even have time to turn around before he skidded to a stop directly in front of her.

He let out a muffled curse, rasping out a quick apology before he cuffed her with his giant hand. She fell silent, completely stunned as he pelted away from the battleground, the forest moving so fast that it blurred. He'd picked her up again, and she fought the urge to laugh hysterically as she was jostled with every step he took.

His pace ate up the miles and she suddenly felt claustrophobic.

Sakura couldn't help the sobs that shook her body as she finally came crashing down to reality. "Kisame, put me down, I can walk."

"Like hell you can," he grunted, clearly unaffected by the effort that it took to carry her.

"Let me down!"

He slowed to a stop, glancing behind him for signs of pursuit. "What the hell happened back there?!"

She tumbled out of his grasp, spinning to confront him.

"I knew him, you should have stopped! I told you not to fight him!" She hissed, her volume was no louder than a whisper, but he didn't miss the venom in her tone.

"He was attacking you, if he was a friend-"

"Shut the  _fuck_  up."

She heard her voice rising in pitch, her sudden, volatile reaction coming out as a screech of fury.

He stopped talking mid-sentence, clearly caught off guard by her reaction. "Hey, a thank you would be nice."

"You're not getting one. I told you to leave him alone, and  _now he's dead because you couldn't hold back_!"

"He would have killed you if you'd given him half a chance, or worse, taken you back to Konoha for a traitor's death. Welcome to the Akatsuki, Princess. Anyone who you used to count as a friend will eagerly kill you for the glory of it."

She couldn't even think of a retort, she was still too shocked by the tragic death. "He was doing what he thought was right," she finally said tiredly, the adrenaline ebbing out of her veins.

"The world is full of young idiots who think that they're going to surpass every hero they've ever had. Sakura, you gotta open your eyes to the reality of what we are."

She slowly raised her gaze to meet his, her eyes puffy and red rimmed. "What are we?"

"Condemned. Or free, depending on who you ask."

She leaned against a tree, closing her eyes. She was struggling to clear her mind, and coming to terms with what had just happened was threatening to tear her apart.

"You can't stop me from mourning him."

"I won't. But don't expect me to apologize for stepping into a fight that might have resulted in your death."

"That's none of your concern," she snapped, throwing him a look filled with venom.

He chuckled, causing her expression to darken even further. "Princess, I'd have to deal with Itachi. Like it or not, it's in my best interests to keep you alive."

She didn't answer, just continued to glare at him. Her expression softened slightly after a few moments, and she glanced at Samehada. She could swear that she heard it purring; a shudder of revulsion flowed down her spine. It was still engorged with Konohamaru's chakra, and it was pulsing with the energy that it had consumed.

She made up her mind.  _I'm doing this, damn the consequences._

"I…am going to send a message to Konoha. I need Naruto to know what happened."

If he was surprised or concerned by her statement, he didn't show it. "If that's what'll make you focus on our mission, you can do whatever the hell you want."

Sakura knew him well enough to know that his permission wasn't given lightly. It was his messed-up way of making amends.

He scuffed his sandal into the dirt, bringing up clouds of dust. "We'd better get moving. It'll be a few hours before we get to the village that we're looking for."

She straightened up, forcing her grief downwards.  _Naruto needs to know. He won't take the news well, but I can't live with myself if I don't tell him._

She followed Kisame into the wilderness, tears streaming silently down her cheeks.

* * *

Itachi tapped his chin absently, searching through endless stacks of scrolls and manuscripts for any useful information about the tailed beasts. Sasuke preened on the windowsill, having just swooped in from the outside.

_"I found something out about this Raiton guy."_

Itachi raised his eyebrow, turning to look over his shoulder. "And?"

_"It's a codename_."

Itachi's brow furrowed and he turned around, giving Sasuke his full attention. "What do you mean?"

Sasuke clicked his beak impatiently.  _"Orochimaru regularly recruits new men and gives them the name. He kills off the old ones."_

"To what end?" Itachi crossed his arms, thinking. "I fail to see how that would be efficient."

_"Secrets. If no one is alive to spill them, then you ensure that your interests are protected."_  Sasuke moved his wings in what could only be described as a shrug.  _"That's what I would do."_

Itachi sighed, bracing his hands against the table. He stared into the flickering candle wick for so long that Sasuke almost spoke.

Finally, he broke his silence. "Sasuke, how do you know this?"

_"Some of the mercenaries are loose-lipped. One was complaining that the brand he was required to receive would affect any contracts he could take in the future."_

"And you trust their information?"

_"Not entirely. But I don't attract a lot of attention, especially when I'm not spotted_ ," he replied pointedly, hopping from the windowsill onto the desk _. "Orochimaru pays handsomely for smugglers; apparently the Raiton mantle pays nearly as much as a Konoha administration position."_

Itachi whistled quietly, grudgingly conceding some admiration for Orochimaru's strategy. "That's a good incentive. So, our father didn't know that Raiton wasn't only one man."

_"No, it makes sense. He never met him personally. They used to exchange coded messages."_

Itachi frowned at his brother, his eyes narrowing. "And you never thought to mention this before?

_"We had bigger things to deal with, it didn't seem important."_

"Sakura and I were sent on a mission to capture a man who doesn't actually exist. Not to mention that Naruto almost died."

Itachi didn't miss the tension of Sasuke's wings, clearly he'd hit a nerve.

_"It wasn't brought up. I had my suspicions, but I clearly wasn't in a position to do any investigating."_

Sasuke's tone was snippy, and Itachi felt a flash of guilt.

"You're right. Forgive me; I was just surprised by the information."

Sasuke shuffled on the spot, mollified. " _Hm_."

He stood silent for so long that Itachi almost asked him to share what was on his mind. When he did speak, it was to abruptly change the subject.

_"Sakura said something about building me a body; did she tell you anything about it?"_

Itachi sighed, settling fluidly into the desk chair. "Deidara is working on a statue. Why she chose him is beyond me, but she's excited about it."

_"And stubborn."_

Itachi chuckled, glancing at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye. "Yes, she certainly is. We'll get you a body, Sasuke. You can count on that."

_"Knowing Deidara's grudge against you, he might make it ugly. If he gives me a hump, I'm going to peck him to death. "_

That comment drew a full laugh from Itachi. Sasuke jumped slightly, and then ruffled his feathers, clearly pleased.

Finally, they were starting to act like brothers again.

Itachi sat quietly, thinking for a long time. He was concerned about the implications of Sasuke's information.

_The Hokage was under the impression that Raiton was one man. Orochimaru's clearly had a hand in too many things. He killed the Third, manipulated my father and who knows how many other people? I can't shake the feeling that he's got something big up his sleeve, there has to be more. I need to talk to Sakura and get a message to Konoha._

He felt a flicker of unease, finally coming to an uncomfortable conclusion.

_Orochimaru knows more than he's let on. I might have to ask him directly about Raiton. It's unlikely that he'll be honest, but Sakura and I are currently more valuable to him alive._

_For now._

* * *

Sakura couldn't fight the bone-deep exhaustion that threatened to drown her. She barely noticed when Kisame stopped abruptly in front of a nondescript house. She smacked into him, too worn out to protest his sudden stop.

"This is it?"

He shrugged, raising one large hand to knock sharply on the door. It cracked open immediately, revealing an old woman wizened with age. "Kisame, come in."

Kisame glanced over his shoulder, gesturing with a jerk of his head that Sakura should sit down. "Grab some food for us and the kid and wait for me over there."

Sakura was too tired to argue. She waited until the front door closed with a sharp click before she slowly made her way into the bustling market of the village. It wasn't a hidden village, but it clearly saw its fair share of shinobi travelers. She appraised the weapons shops and specialty travel supply stands with some interest.

Sakura couldn't ignore the stares of the villagers. The Akatsuki cloak felt like it weighed a thousand pounds; the bright red of the cloud pattern was a clear warning. It swung around her ankles as she walked. Between her hair and her outfit, she felt like she may as well wear a giant sign around her neck that said "I'm a murderer and an outlaw".

_If only Konohamaru had listened to me, he would still be alive._ She thought sadly, stopping to inspect a fruit stand.

She was so deep in thought that she didn't even notice a hidden leaf shinobi slipping into one of the alleys between the houses.

_What was Konohamaru doing so far from Konoha? He wasn't close enough to Suna to explain what he was doing at the edge of the Land of Wind._

Her mind flashed to Fugaku, and she bit back a wave of rage.  _If he had anything to do with that, it's just another reason for me to make him suffer._

Glimpsing the anger in her eyes, the owner of the fruit stand hurriedly presented her with an apple. She stared at him for a moment, not understanding what was happening.

"Uh, thank you," she finally said quietly, offering the panicked man a small smile and a handful of coins. "I'll take five more please."

"Really, it's fine. Please take them, with my compliments." The man said quickly, glancing around, as if he was looking for any eavesdroppers. "Orochimaru-sama ensures that we are taken care of here. You needn't worry about the cost."

Flabbergasted, she slowly accepted the fruit. Glancing at the other merchants, she felt a flicker of disquiet. They were all rummaging around; clearly trying to anticipate what she would choose if she walked up to their stalls.

_There's something wrong with this place._

She hurriedly walked away, thanking the fruit seller. Settling down on a bench, she watched the house that Kisame had disappeared into, hoping fervently that he would emerge sooner rather than later. She knew that she wasn't imagining that the villagers were watching her when a group of teenagers stopped to gawk at her.

She had never felt so self-conscious in her life.

It was the damn robe.

Her mind drifted back to Konohamaru, and she bit back another wave of tears. She began to weigh out her options, although she knew that Naruto would be devastated by the news.

Nothing that she said would ease the pain that the news would cause.

_Konohamaru was always tagging along after us; I can't believe that he's gone._ She thought sadly, hugging her arms to her chest.  _I should have moved faster, or at least been better at persuading him not to fight. It should have been me who got hit with Samehada._

She knew deep down that there was nothing that she could have done to talk Konohamaru out of a fight, and that made her guilt feel even more painful.

Her head snapped up as the door to the house opened; revealing Kisame. She searched behind him for the child, and she finally saw her. She was a tiny girl, no more than five years old.

She looked terrified.

Sakura could see into the house that they were leaving, and she was discomforted to see that there were several other children in the care of the old woman.  _Why would Orochimaru send us here? Who is this girl?_

Kisame led her by the hand towards Sakura, and she couldn't look away from the haunted look in the girl's eyes. As she watched, the child's eyes filled with tears.

She thought that her heart might break.  _Oh damn it._

Unable to stop herself, Sakura found herself moving to pick up the girl. She swept her up, relieved that the child seemed to take comfort in her arms. Tiny arms wrapped around her and held tight.

Kisame shook his head in acceptance, gesturing that it was time to leave. "Sakura, this is Yuki. We gotta get her back to the base by tomorrow afternoon."

"Fine."

Holding the girl close, Sakura set off at a gentle run. She was careful not to jostle the child, who didn't make a sound as the trees blurred around them.

It wasn't until they stopped for the night, hours later, that she gently set the girl down. She didn't speak to Kisame, all of her attention concentrated on setting out a bedroll for Yuki.

"Your name is…Sakura?"

Sakura turned as the girl sat down, regarding her with eyes older than her years.

"Yes. And you're Yuki."

"Yes." The girl said simply, taking a delicate bite of the apple that Sakura offered her. "Kisame-sama says that you're going to take care of me until we get home."

"He did?" Sakura shot an accusing glare over her shoulder at him, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Do you know what we're going to do when we get back?"

"He says that my papa will come home soon, and then we can be together again."

Sakura felt a flash of concern, ticking through the roster of those who worked at the base.  _He's either a contract mercenary or a test subject._

The second possibility sent a chill of dread down her spine.  _Orochimaru likes to work with genes; he'd better not be retrieving this girl so that he can experiment on her._

"Yuki, I might know your father. What's his name?"

The girl scrunched her face up in thought for a moment, and then her expression brightened. "It's Akihiko!"

Sakura couldn't put her finger on it, there was something about that name that bothered her. But she was too exhausted to think properly. It was something that she would allot some time to after she had slept.

"We should get some sleep," she murmured, glancing up at the darkened sky. She set her bedroll out next to Yuki's, falling asleep almost the moment that her head hit the pillow.

She barely noticed when the girl snuggled next to her, her arm reflexively reaching out.

Kisame glanced over his shoulder, a smile playing around the corners of his mouth.

_Oh yeah, she's gonna be furious when she figures out who the kid is._

Sakura woke up suddenly, paranoid that she'd heard a noise. She listened intently, every muscle in her body tensed.

It was just Kisame.

He nodded at her, answering her unspoken question. It was her watch.

She let out her breath in a whoosh, moving carefully so that she didn't wake Yuki. She stood up; stretching out tired muscles and working sleep from her body.

Having slept for a while, she felt a little better. The knot of anxiety in her belly hadn't eased however; she knew what she needed to do.

She settled into a nearby tree, preparing herself for a summoning jutsu. It took a while before Kisame fell asleep and she eased herself down to the ground in the next clearing. She could clearly see the kid and Kisame, getting to them in an emergency would be easy.

She settled into a cross legged position, signing quickly. Taking a deep breath, she dredged up a large measure of chakra and activated her summoning jutsu.

It felt like she couldn't breathe for a moment as the jutsu took effect and Katsuyu was summoned. Finally, she opened her eyes to see a tiny slug in front of her, regally inclining its head as she bowed respectfully. "Katsuyu-sama, I'm sorry to disturb you, but I need to get a message to Konoha."

She was suddenly exhausted again; she'd forgotten how much effort it took to summon the slug queen.

"Certainly, Sakura-san, a message can be easily done. You wouldn't have summoned me if it weren't important."

Sakura sighed, hugging her knees to her chest. "Yes. I need you to tell Tsunade-sama that Konohamaru Sarutobi is dead."

"Oh my."

Sakura bit her lip, struggling to find the words. "He initiated conflict in the forest southwest of Konoha. I couldn't dissuade him; he saw my cloak and was determined to bring me back to Konoha. My teammate mistakenly…attempted to save my life. He killed Konohamaru, despite my attempts to stop him."

She fell silent, the shame of her failure lying heavily on her shoulders.

"Sakura, don't blame yourself. You can't save everyone, no matter how hard you try," the slug spoke quietly, trying to console her.

Sakura impatiently wiped a tear away, nodding shakily. "Thank you."

"I'll deliver your message. Be careful, Sakura."

The slug disappeared in a small cloud of smoke and Sakura didn't feel relief. In fact, she didn't feel anything.

She settled back into her perch, watching as the moon traced its way across the sky. She didn't move for hours, only standing up and hopping down from the tree when the sky changed colour with the dawn.

Kisame woke up without any prompting, and they were moving again. Sakura cradled a sleepy Yuki to her chest, trying to stave off the dread that she felt.

_If Orochimaru intends to experiment on her, I'm sending her to Konoha through Katsuyu. I don't care about the chakra cost or how mad Orochimaru may be. I'm not going to stand back and let another innocent life be destroyed. If anyone stands in my way, it's their funeral._

A small part of her secretly hoped that someone would pick a fight with her over the child. She was at the end of her rope; she was losing control.

_I've been a puppet for months. I'm not going to be controlled anymore._

Rage was easier to handle than grief. It wasn't helpful to her or her friends that she was struggling to function, but she wasn't ready to deal with the emotional turmoil that Konohamaru's death had created. It was easier to be angry and vengeful.

In that moment, she didn't care who she took it out on.

They made it back to the hideout with no trouble, their pace slower than it would have been because of Yuki.

She felt like she was moving through molasses; everything was muted.  

Sakura slowed to a stop outside the main cave entrance. The Akatsuki base was cleverly hidden in the mountain, only those who knew where to look could find it. She pierced through the protective genjutsus with little effort and made her way inside.

Kisame had split off from her several miles away and she didn't care. He could walk off a cliff and she wouldn't give a shit at the moment.

The great doors opened, and she strode inside with no hesitation. She would make sure that the girl was safe, and then she was going straight to see Itachi.

Yuki didn't bat an eyelash at the motley crew of Akatsuki members lounging in the main courtyard, for which Sakura was thankful. A panicked child was never pleasant, and the Akatsuki were odd enough to make an adult nervous.

She let Yuki down, slightly surprised by how calm the girl was.  _She's got to have been here before, there's no way that she'd be this mellow if she'd never met the Akatsuki._

Yuki grinned wolfishly as Kabuto strode into view, running happily towards him. "Kabuto-sama! I'm back!"

_Ah. So I was right._

Kabuto knelt down to greet the girl, ruffling her hair affectionately. "Hey kid. Let's take you back to your room; I have a new game for you."

He looked up and saw Sakura standing there and his expression didn't change. If he was surprised by the sight of her tear stained face, he didn't show it.

"Thanks, Sakura."

She nodded, watching his every move like a hawk. When he took Yuki's hand and began to lead her away, she snagged his arm with a grip like iron.

He raised an eyebrow, not moving an inch. "Yes?"

"Is she a test subject?" Sakura's volume was no higher than a whisper, but Kabuto didn't miss the silent threat lying beneath her question.

He smiled gently, sending a shiver of fright down her spine. "No, she isn't. Your part of this mission is done, so you're welcome to go and relax until our next lesson tomorrow."

She swallowed nervously, nodding at him as she released his arm. He walked away without a backwards glance. Sakura returned Yuki's small wave, deep in thought.

_I don't trust him one bit._

Making a mental note to regularly check up on the girl, she made her way back to her office.

* * *

Itachi glanced up as Sakura opened the door, and he quickly stood up. His heart lurched at the sight of her red-rimmed eyes.

Sasuke chose that very moment to tactfully flap out of the window.

"Sakura, what-"

"Itachi." She spoke his name in a half-sob, her arms crossed tightly to her chest. He reached out, brushing his hands along her shoulders. He was surprised to find that she was completely unresponsive, something was seriously wrong.

"What happened?"

"Konohamaru is dead," she said quietly, looking everywhere but at him.

He thought for a second, trying to recall the name. "The Third's grandson..?"

"Yes. He attacked me, he said that I'm in the bingo book so he had to," she continued, her voice shaking, "Kisame doubled back and tried to defend me. Samehada killed him so fast that I couldn't do anything."

"You knew him."

"He was a friend."

She glanced at her hands, and Itachi finally noticed that there were tiny chakra burns peppered over her skin. "You're injured."

"His chakra electrocuted me when I tried to save him." Her voice was dull, she sounded hopeless.

Itachi didn't answer, just waited for her to tell him what she needed. When she didn't say anything, he made the mistake of trying to distract her with his news.

"I know that this isn't a good time, but Sasuke found something out that you need to know."

He knew immediately that he'd made the wrong choice. 

"Don't." She stepped out of reach, arms crossed. "I don't want to hear it."

He felt a flash of irritation, she was being too emotional. He didn't blame her for it, hell, he would be feeling the same way in her place. But there was too much at stake for her to lose herself in her rage now. She needed to channel her emotions into something more productive.

"Sakura, you're upset. That's fine, but you can't lose sight of why we're here."

"I'm not in the mood to talk right now. I'm leaving."

She turned on her heel and made for the door.

"Don't just walk away."

She continued towards the door.

He was in front of her in a flash of movement, his arm blocking her exit. "Don't ignore me."

"I'm going to work with Juugo." Her voice trembled slightly, betraying her, and he realized then that something was very wrong. "There's something interesting about his chakra that I want to take a look at."

He felt a rush of annoyance; he could tell that she was lying. He was tempted to let her leave, but for some reason he was itching for an argument.

"Don't act like a child," he snapped, moving his body in front of hers, "Grieve if you need to, but you need to come back down to reality sooner rather than later."

She fixed him with a glare so steely that he nearly took a step away. "How could you understand what I'm feeling right now?"

"Of course I understand." He was simmering with curiosity, wondering what he could possibly have done to piss her off so much.  _It's misplaced grief. She's looking for a reason to be angry._

"How?! Your clothes didn't condemn your friend to death!"

"What's that mean?" He was confused, she could tell, and that pissed her off even more.

"If we hadn't left Konoha, Konohamaru would still be alive!"

"You can't know that. He may have lost his life another way, he's a shinobi." It was all he could do to keep his tone even; his frustration was close to the surface.

"Yeah, but that's not what happened!"

"What's your point?" He already knew where this argument was headed, and he took a deep, steadying breath to try to keep his temper in check. "You can't change what happened."

"What, so I'm supposed to just accept that my friend is dead?" She demanded, finally looking him in the eye.

"Yes!"

"That's the fundamental difference between you and I, isn't it." She replied coldly.

"Fundamental difference? I'm agreeing with you that it's tragic, but you can't throw everything away because you're upset! Konohamaru's sacrifice will be in vain if we fail."

He shook his head, getting increasingly more annoyed that she couldn't see how he was trying to acknowledge her grief. He'd mourned more than his fair share of dead companions; he was no stranger to death.

"Upset?! Are you kidding me? Don't talk to me like I'm a child!" Fury made her voice shrill, and he turned away from her for a moment. He didn't even need to look at her to know that tears were threatening to stream down her cheeks.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not doing anything of the sort."

"You have no idea what I'm going through right now. I've always done everything right, and now I'm an outlaw, a terrorist, and the grandchild of a Hokage died at my hands! How could you possibly understand?!"

"You don't have to tell me how difficult death is," he replied angrily, his voice colder than she'd ever heard it.

She hated how emotional she was, but she couldn't stop the words from pouring out of her mouth.

"He was like a brother to me!"

"So, you of all people should know that I understand exactly what losing a brother feels like!"

" _But_   _you got your brother back_!"

She knew that she'd gone too far when his shoulders tensed; she'd overstepped.

"Sakura. I mourned my brother and literally washed his blood off my hands. He was dead for six months."

She fell silent, embarrassed. "Itachi, I-"

"You're not the only one who has lost people!" He was equally as heated as she was, but his voice was barely raised above a whisper. Sakura couldn't see the anger and disbelief that lay underneath his calm exterior and that clearly infuriated her even further.

"I have no idea what you're feeling or what you're thinking! You act like nothing affects you, like you're above it all!"

"Of course I'm affected! You just don't see it, I don't express my emotions the same way that you do!"

"Oh, of course not, you're an Uchiha! You don't feel anything!"

"I feel everything! But I don't know how to show it!" He ran his hands through his hair in frustration, and started to pace.

"You never let me forget who you are! You Uchiha are all the same, arrogant and manipulative, and-"

"That's what you think of me?" He raised his voice, finally giving into his frustration as he interrupted her.

"Yes, I do think that! You aren't giving me a reason to think otherwise!"

"You can't lump us all into the same category when you're mad, don't be a child!"

"Fine! But you can't just brush me off, I-"

She cut off as his arms came up on either side of her, boxing her in.

"Is this what you want?" He asked quietly, moving his body closer to hers. "You want me to lose control, tell you exactly what I felt when Sasuke died?"

She glared at him, raising her chin defiantly. "Yes."

It was clear that she had expected him to yell, but she was shocked when he sighed and stepped away. "Fine. I thought I was going to be ripped apart from the grief and the guilt. I sat in the dark for days after the sharingan transplant hoping that I was mistaken, that Sasuke wasn't dead.  I would have given anything to trade places with him."

"Itachi… I had no idea."

"You didn't ask," he said pointedly, raising an eyebrow at the guilt clearly written all over her face. He let the silence sit for a moment before he finally spoke. "Are you done yelling at me?"

She nodded, fighting back the urge to cry. He knew that her anguish was spent; she didn't have it in her to be angry anymore.

He sighed.  "I'm sorry, you have a right to grieve Konohamaru-"

"No, you were right. I shouldn't have taken my feelings out on you. You didn't deserve that."

He waited.

She didn't say anything more, she didn't need to. He could see her emotional dam finally breaking, and suddenly she was sobbing in his arms. He looped his arms around her, pulling her tightly to him. Her sobs shook her body, and he sank down to the floor, cradling her close.

"I'm so sorry," she murmured, her voice muffled by his shirt.

"We'll avenge him," he spoke into her temple, his lips brushing against her skin.

"I know." She pulled away from him for a moment, hesitating as she looked him in the eye. He felt a rush of affection for her, despite their argument. There was something about how feisty she was that endeared her to him. He shifted forwards and kissed her softly, resisting the urge to deepen the kiss when she responded.

Pulling away reluctantly, he played absentmindedly with a piece of her hair. "Did I see you come back with a child in tow?" He asked quietly, pleased by her small laugh.

"Yeah, she was the asset that we were sent to fetch."

"That's odd."

"That's what I thought." She sat up straight, chewing on her lip. She was clearly mulling something over. "Does the name Akihiko mean anything to you?"

His brow furrowed as he thought about it for a moment, finally coming to a conclusion. "Isn't that Raiton's real name?"

Her eyes widened, and he was pleased to see that he was right.

"Oh my god, we have Raiton's daughter here?"

He knew that she was hatching a plan. 

"I think we can use this to our advantage," she breathed, her eyes alight with satisfaction.  

Itachi wasn't sure that he liked the glint in her eye.  


	27. Psilocybin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orochimaru grows impatient with his lack of progress. Sakura and Itachi talk about the tailed beasts. Tsunade has no choice but to make a move.

Sakura let out a sigh, snuggling closer to Itachi's side. She opened her eyes slowly, taking a moment to absorb the sunlight filtering through the window.  _I'm not ready to wake up yet_ , she thought sleepily, gently brushing Itachi's hair off of his face. His brow furrowed slightly, and she couldn't help wondering what he was dreaming about.

She didn't often get the chance to watch him sleep. He always looked so young, which was a surprise to her, given that he gave the impression of possessing an ancient soul. He certainly acted like a grumpy old man often enough, but she didn't mind that anymore.

Her heart fluttered as he sighed and shifted closer to her.

_I might not survive this mission, so it's totally not weird that I'm trying to memorize every inch of his face._

_His damn good looks are going to be the death of me._

She was starting to see a new side to him; he constantly shocked her with his dry humor. It was a welcome change from the sullen, businesslike Itachi that she'd first met. That didn't mean that he didn't drive her insane, but she was falling hard for him.  _Between our arguments and the constant missions, at least passion isn't an issue._

Truthfully, that thought made her a bit smug. Somehow, she'd managed to snag one of the most elusive Uchihas, against all odds.  _Take that, Ino._

She snuck another glance at his face. Her gaze traveled down his high cheekbones, the curve of his jaw, and finally settled on his lips. She was fascinated by the fact that his lower lip was fuller than the top one, and that he revealed a small dimple when he smiled.  _Only on the right side, and only when he's about to chuckle._

_Yep, I'm in trouble._

Fondly, she scooted closer to kiss him awake. She should have known better than to think that he was still soundly asleep. She squeaked with surprise as his mouth curved into a smile (revealing said dimple) and he abruptly rolled over, pinning her beneath him.

"Good morning," he murmured softly, his voice still rough with sleep.

She shivered, a blush quickly covering her face and neck. "I thought you were still asleep."

He chuckled, poking her affectionately on the forehead. "I was, but then I felt you staring at me."

"I couldn't help it," she muttered, avoiding his direct gaze. She couldn't help the grin that turned up the corners of her mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his soft hair. "You looked so peaceful while you were sleeping."

"My dream wasn't exactly relaxing." His smile didn't budge, and she felt the telltale heat of arousal pooling in her belly. It was too hard to ignore his body pressed against hers.

"Why wasn't it?" She shifted slightly, raising an eyebrow as his hand smoothed over her hip.

"It's easier if I show you."

Her blush deepened when she recognized the glint in his eye. "Itachi-"

He silenced her with a kiss, adjusting his hips until he was flush against her. "Hm?"

It was hard enough to remember to breathe, let alone talk. Sakura struggled to compose her thoughts, feeling very flustered. "I should get to the lab; Kabuto might come looking for me."

"He can wait. Unless you want to leave?"

She shook her head vigorously, a silly grin spreading over her face. "Nope-"

Anything that she was about to say was lost as he kissed her again.

_That damn dimple. There's no way I can tell him. I have to keep what I know a secret for as long as I can._

* * *

Orochimaru hated waiting. He despised delays, always vehemently opposed to inconvenience. He was furiously pacing, ignoring a patient Kabuto who stood in the corner of the dark, damp room. Whirling on his heel, he slammed his fists down on a table, causing expensive medical equipment to crash to the floor, the breaking glass echoed into the darkness of the vaulted ceiling.

"Where is the report?" He snapped, glaring accusingly at his second in command. Kabuto didn't react, taking a moment to mull over his response.

Finally, he pushed his glasses up with his finger and raised an eyebrow. "Orochimaru-sama, the messages from our Uchiha agent have been coming less frequently since our resident couple fled Konoha. Security is much tighter; it isn't easy to get information to us."

Deflating slightly, Orochimaru grudgingly conceded his agreement. "I am tiring of the delays. I need a host, and we both know that my choice is made. I refuse to accept a substitute, time grows short."

"And the rumors of Sakura having a sharingan?"

Orochimaru sneered, waving a hand dismissively. "Fugaku has taken leave of his senses; the girl couldn't possibly have one. We'd have seen it by now. His condition has progressed to hallucinations, but I want him to be raving mad when I make my move."

"Will that compromise things?"

"What? No, you idiot, of course not. I chose that specific poison for a reason."

"Or Itachi? Shouldn't we be concerned with him? He's a threat."

"If I thought that I could kill him without taking enough damage to die, I would," Orochimaru almost snarled, pressing his nails so deep into the wooden table that he left marks.

Kabuto remained silent, his arms crossed. Orochimaru bristled at his silence. "Out with it."

"I don't mean to contradict you, but with your permission I could find out the truth about Sakura," he said finally, sharing a meaningful glance with the Sannin.

Orochimaru's eyes came alight; the look in them could only be described as predatory. "When everything has fallen into place, you may do as you wish. She'll have outlived her usefulness by then."

"And in the meantime?"

"Keep her working with Juugo. I want to see the look on Tsunade's face when she realizes that it was her student who gave me the tools to destroy her."

"Should I be jealous?" Kabuto asked drily, watching as Orochimaru strode to the gigantic stone door and opened it with little effort.

"Nonsense. I would have killed you already if you weren't a critical part of my operation."

Kabuto said nothing, but he couldn't help the flicker of irritation that flitted over his face.

"Now, I intend to keep Sakura and Itachi apart; it would be a pity to kill them for conspiring against me before they've fulfilled their purpose." Orochimaru continued, giving no sign that he'd seen the lapse in Kabuto's composure.

"Yes, Orochimaru-sama. As you wish."

"Send a message to Konoha while you're at it. I don't know where they've got our little weasel hidden, but inform him that his dear daughter is once again under my watch. He will receive a message at the appointed time."

"You trust that he won't betray us?"

"I see you still have a few things to learn about negotiation." Orochimaru chuckled darkly, gesturing with a sweeping hand towards the iron cage that sat in the corner of the lab. "Never surrender the upper hand."

"Duly noted."

The Sannin regarded his subordinate with calculating eyes, appraising him. "Mark my words, within two months, Konoha will be mine."

Without a backwards glance, he swept out of the room. Kabuto resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the constant dramatics, trying and failing to repress the surge of annoyance that followed Orochimaru's departure.

He had too much to do, and Orochimaru's constant badgering wasn't helping. He couldn't run experiments and research properly when he was being interrupted every other day.

_Our most important experiments will decide our course of action. If I can't find a way to do what Orochimaru has asked, we're back to square one._

_Sakura has the answers to my questions; I need to find a way to get it out of her without making her suspicious. The scope of the injury, the side-effects, and the reaction of the premium asset are the things that Orochimaru wants to know._

He needed Sakura's help, as much as he was loath to admit it. Tsunade had always had better chakra control than Orochimaru (so he'd been told), and it was only natural that her apprentice had the same talents. Sakura possessed a quick mind and some chakra abilities that he was quietly envious of.

He knew that she was hiding something, and that irked him.

Kabuto surveyed the damage that Orochimaru had left, sighing quietly. He had several immediate suspicions about Sakura and Itachi; ones that he intended to investigate as soon as he was able.

_She's always got that bird with her, which is very odd. It seems to be entirely sentient and possesses free will. I haven't seen that behaviour in any of his other birds. They're hiding something._

He began to sweep up the glass that covered the floor, thinking hard.  _Given our informant's belief that Sasuke's sharingan may have been stolen, it doesn't make sense that Itachi still possesses his eternal mangekyou. My answers might come if I could get a look at Sakura's seal. She has Tsunade's technique, but is the chakra entirely her own?_

Cleaning his hands of glass shards, he began to methodically chart his day. First, there was a blood draw from test subject 87, a stamina test for subjects 65 and 88, and finally, a gene mutation experiment on subject 98 with Juugo's chakra. Sakura was going to join him for the first two tests, but he didn't trust her enough to let her into the mutation lab yet.

_I'll make time to study her. Tomorrow, I'll have time. Down in the cells, no one will hear or care if she makes a fuss._

_All I have to do is provoke her._

* * *

Neji appraised Konoha's walls, searching for any weak points. He made his way around the perimeter, taking stock of any spots where the stone walls were marred by past battles or weakened by time. He glanced to his right after his fourth lap and waved absentmindedly at Kakashi.

"You're everywhere these days," he said quietly in greeting, continuing along his path. Kakashi fell into step beside him, sighing deeply.

"The Hokage seems to think that I have a mind for strategy."

"I'm inclined to agree. I'm very interested to know how many unmarked entry points that you've used over the years."

Kakashi scratched his head, his silver hair blowing in the sudden breeze. "I don't like to give away my secrets, but I suppose I could show you."

"Good. Then I'll need to know how many exit points. The Hokage suspects that someone is feeding information out of the village."

"That's likely," Kakashi replied, lazily pointing out a small crack in the ground below the wall. "There's one. I've instructed my agents to come back; it's too risky if the network has been compromised."

"Kakashi-sensei, as heartless as I may sound, I'd urge you to continue gathering information," Neji said bluntly, marking down the spot on his blueprints. "Konohamaru's death is certainly a blow to the village, but emotion might get us all killed."

Kakashi regarded the younger shinobi with his one visible eye, clearly mulling things over. "War calls for bluntness. Perhaps I'm getting soft in my old age."

Neji continued to make notes, shaking his head. "You were ANBU, forgive my rudeness, but your particular brand of bluntness is what we need right now."

"I take it Shikamaru has told you about the plan."

"Yes," Neji answered simply, finally putting down his work to survey Kakashi. "It just may work. Does Tsunade-sama think that she can keep the politics under control until then?"

Shrugging, Kakashi crossed his arms and surveyed the main gates as they slowed to a stop. "She has to. Until she can make contact with a certain kunoichi she has to wait, but yes."

"I hope you're right. I've prepared for the worst, given what we do know."

"Which isn't nearly enough," Kakashi said ruefully, glancing at the rising sun. "I need to be at the tower in an hour, so as long as we're finished this in two hours I won't be late."

Neji frowned, a slight line appearing between his brows. "Very well. Let's up the pace, then."

"Let's give our eavesdroppers something to tell their masters," Kakashi chuckled darkly, nodding in approval at the dark glint in Neji's eye.

The two shinobi took off; the sounds of their sandals echoing off the stone of the village wall. They were being watched from a distance. From two different vantage points two different shinobi took off to inform their masters that the young Hyuuga and the Copy Ninja were doing something that involved the wall.

The Uchiha steward huffed and puffed as he ran back along the roads of the village. He was getting on in years, so a sprint was out of the question. He skidded to a stop outside the Uchiha complex, adjusting his shirt collar where it had crumpled. He attempted as stately of a walk as he could manage, trying and failing to conceal his shortness of breath.

He had barely re-entered Fugaku Uchiha's house when he was stopped short by a sharp sound. Slowly, he turned to see Fugaku, half hidden in shadow. In his hand was a kunai, jabbed point down into the end table where he sat. It was still shuddering from the impact with the table.

Kasumi stood frozen, waiting for his employer to speak first. When he didn't say a word, he took a much needed deep breath and spoke hurriedly. "Fugaku-sama, I have news of the Hokage's activities."

"Go on."

"Well, uh, the Hyuuga jonin and the Copy Ninja were running around the perimeter of the village, over and over. Her orders, I assume."

Fugaku leaned forwards, his eyes glittering in the light. Kasumi almost flinched as he found himself looking into the blood-red of the sharingan. "What were they doing?"

Slumping in shame, the steward took a calming breath before answering. "That I don't know. I wasn't close enough to hear what they were saying."

"Damn it!" Fugaku roared, hurling his kunai through the air. It whistled past Kasumi's ear and stuck in the wood right behind him, vibrating from the impact. He screeched and ducked, almost jumping straight into Fugaku as he swept from the room.

"Your incompetence continues to disappoint me! If you don't bring me something useful I will have no choice but to consider you a liability. It would be a shame to see your eighteen years of service wasted."

Kasumi jumped again as a door slammed, and the room fell silent. He glowered at the dark hallway, gloomy despite the brilliance of the sun outside. He wrenched the kunai out of the wood, groaning silently at the damage to the house.

He walked back towards the kitchen, pulling a small scroll out of his pocket. It was tiny, barely large enough to fill a thimble, but it contained information that made him nearly shake with excitement. He had his orders, and soon he wouldn't have to wait on Fugaku.

_I won't have to wait much longer. Everything is happening according to the schedule._

His hand absentmindedly touched the small tattoo on the back of his right shoulder. Three tomoe sat in a circle, a mark that signified only one thing.

_Soon. I will have my reward._

* * *

Sakura wiped her forehead, grimacing at the grime that came off on her hand. She hated being down in the tunnels. The lack of sunlight and constant ominous aura radiating out from the darkness made her intensely uncomfortable. She could swear that the metallic scent of blood was still on her hands.

She was emotionally exhausted. It had only been a week since Konohamaru's death, and she had just been forced to watch a test that was more akin to a gladiator fight than an experiment. She didn't have much left; she was fighting against the apathy that threatened to overtake her.

Sakura was still weighed down by the guilt of the Konohamaru situation, but also the things that she'd said to Itachi during their argument. He had already assured her that he hadn't taken offence, but she still wondered.

_I probably couldn't forgive anyone who threw my brother's death in my face._  She thought sadly, already intent on making it up to Itachi. She silently swore that she would do her utmost to never say anything hurtful during an argument again-

Her thoughts cut off abruptly.

She'd caught a glimpse of herself in the reflection of the pond in the middle of the hideout courtyard and she gasped aloud. She was covered in droplets of dried blood; her skin and hair were peppered with them.

Biting back the urge to throw up, she recalled how she had picked it up. There were no mirrors down in the depths of the mountain, so she'd had no idea that she looked like she'd butchered someone.

The two test subjects had fought for nearly three hours, exhausting themselves to the point of death. Finally, the smaller of the two had gained the upper hand, hurling a large rock in desperation at her opponent. Sakura knew that the girl was only moments away from passing out from lack of chakra and her injuries.

The rock had soared through the air, making contact with the skull of her opponent. He had been doubled over, trying to catch his breath as the weapon hurtled through the air towards him. Sakura had flinched backwards, but it wasn't enough to avoid the spray of blood as his skull was crushed.

Kabuto had chuckled at the sight, and she had never heard a sound so dark. She had jumped down into the ring, trying desperately to save the life of the test subject, but it was too late. She'd barely gathered her wits about her before the winner of the bout had collapsed.

Sakura had managed to get enough chakra into the girl's system to save her, but she knew that the girl was already living on borrowed time. Kabuto had let it slip that she was scheduled to fight again within the week.

_I can't do anything to save her. What's the point of trying to be a good person if you're powerless to stop the shitty stuff that you see happening?!_

She grabbed a handful of water and began to scrub the blood from her skin. She looked up at the sound of quiet footsteps and relaxed as Sasuke swooped into view. She knew that it was Itachi walking towards her.

_"What happened?"_

Sasuke settled down next to her and hopped forwards, towards the water. She had noticed several months previously that he was slightly obsessed with his reflection. She didn't blame him, she'd probably act the same way if she was stuck in a body that wasn't her own.

"Kabuto made two of the subjects battle it out in the name of a stamina test," she said bitterly, as she continued to madly scrub the coppery droplets off of her skin. "One of them died."

"Are you alright?" Itachi walked up behind her and offered his hand. She clambered slowly to her feet, gratefully accepting his help.

"If you have anything to say that will distract me, I would appreciate it." She tried to smile but found that it froze on her face. She settled for a grimace instead.

"Hm. If you're feeling up to it, I have news about our research."

She glanced up from her hands, reassured by Itachi's steady presence. "Hm?"

"I found something."

The meaningful look in his eye told her all that she needed to know. She let him decide where they should go, and he gestured with a small inclination of his head that they needed to leave the hideout.

_Finally, some information about the tailed beasts._

They took off, Sasuke soaring silently above them. They ran out of the main gates, through the genjutsus guarding the entrance and out into the forest beyond. Sakura didn't bother to count the miles as they ran.

She knew that Orochimaru would want to know why they left, but at the moment she didn't care. Itachi ran along beside her, effortlessly keeping a breakneck pace. She felt herself relaxing as the physical exertion worked its magic; with every moment that passed she felt more like herself again.

Itachi finally stopped, dropping to the ground in a field that suddenly bloomed out of the forest. Sakura had never been here before, she assumed that he'd found it on the way back from one of his many missions.

"So, what did you find out?" She asked, drawing her fingers absentmindedly through the tall grass. He didn't respond for a moment, so she turned to look at him. "Itachi?"

"I have a feeling that you need to work off some of your frustration," he said pointedly, the expression on his face giving her pause.

_Oh, we're probably being watched._

"You could say that." She replied easily, shifting her weight so that she was balanced. "But no sharingan, otherwise it's just not fair. Go easy, we're not all prodigies."

He smirked, moving so fast that she barely had time to throw up a block. The force of the impact caused her to take an involuntary skid backwards, moving back several feet. She spun, kicking up a wall of dirt. She signed quickly, determined to get the drop on him. Itachi was behind her before she had a chance to think, his arm wrapping around her shoulders like iron.

"It's not unique to certain Uchiha."

"Oh?" She stood shock-still, waiting for him to continue.

"It all depends on the power of the sharingan user," he murmured, his lips brushing against her ear.

She dropped her centre of gravity and used her strength to throw him off his feet. He landed hard, rolling and springing faster to his feet than Kisame had when she'd used the same move. She pressed forwards, dodging and blocking his lightening quick strikes. He quickly managed to land a hit, and chuckled darkly as she disappeared in a cloud of thick white smoke.

"Clones, really?"

Her quiet laugh echoed through the field, and he stood still for a moment, searching for her chakra. "That's hardly fair."

"Imagine what it's like not having a sharingan," she purred, emerging from behind her genjutsu, the air shimmering like sunlight through water. "You're practically a peasant like me."

He grabbed her arm and pulled her over his shoulder, relishing her yelp of surprise as she hit the ground. The breath wooshed out of her lungs and she glared up at him reproachfully. "Hey!"

He bent down to haul her to her feet, speaking so quietly that she could barely hear him. "It's not even exclusive to Uchiha, the Senju are theoretically able to as well. Shisui's sharingan is certainly powerful enough to control the nine-tails."

Sakura's eyes widened and she reflexively pressed the offensive, forcing Itachi to block her blows. "So  _he_  has the means to do it?" She breathed, terror flooding through her veins.

Itachi paused for a moment, nodding solemnly. "Yes."

He took advantage of her hesitation to hook his foot behind her ankle. She started to fall, and then glared at him as he caught her. "Stop that!"

"Fine." He moved his arm and suddenly she was thudding to the ground, definitely bruising her rear.

Sasuke let out a squawk, clearly amused.

"Shut up!" Sakura grumbled, clambering to her feet. "So you're sure? Can you do anything?"

Itachi looked pensive for a moment, fishing a kunai out of his pack and tossing it to her. "We'll use these for a bit. Not unless I tried to do it before he could, but Fugaku's got the advantage right now."

Sakura swore. She continued to curse, loudly and enthusiastically as she hurled a kunai at Itachi. He caught it in midair and whipped it back towards her. She let her chakra bloom out of her hands and she tapped it as it whistled past her head. She didn't wait for it to embed itself in the ground, but instead used the chakra strings that she'd learned from Lady Chiyo to throw it back. It moved with the force of a crossbow bolt, catching Itachi by surprise.

He hurriedly blocked it, shooting an annoyed glance at a chuckling Sasuke.

_"Pay attention, Itachi. She just might cut you."_

The spar continued, with Itachi darting close enough to her to whisper more information. There was very little to be understood about the sharingan's control over the nine tails. An Uchiha could try and hope for the best, but no one who could refute the claims was still alive.

"So we're powerless to stop it." Sakura growled, panting from exertion.

"We may have to provoke Orochimaru sooner than we'd expected."

Sakura bent over, trying to catch her breath and calm her whirling mind. "There's too much that doesn't make sense!"

She flopped to the ground, staring up at the sky. The grass beside her rustled as Itachi joined her. "We can't assume that everything we don't understand is nefarious."

"Uchiha, need I remind you that we live with the most powerful group of outlaw shinobi in history?" She asked drily, rolling her eyes in exasperation. "Nothing that happens here is accidental or innocent."

_"Well we know that he's trying to keep you two apart,"_  Sasuke muttered, flapping down to the ground beside them _. "Orochimaru's bound to have heard something about you using my sharingan when we escaped Konoha. Any time that you spend together could be spent plotting against him."_

"Sasuke, how..?"

_"Rumours spread fast. Why do you think that Kisame provoked you into fighting last month? Kabuto was probably trying to activate my sharingan."_

The corner of Itachi's mouth ticked up and he raised an eyebrow at Sasuke. "It would be helpful if you voiced your observations more often, Sasuke."

His tone was even, but it held a hint of reproach.

Sasuke ruffled his wings, clearly feeling chastised.  _"Fine. Keep that in mind next time you two are all over each other. There's only so much time that we are all in the same room_." He said pointedly.

Sakura had the good grace to blush, and even Itachi looked a little taken aback. "Duly noted," he muttered, rising to his feet and brushing the dust off of his pants.

Sakura started to push herself into a sitting position but stopped when she saw the alarmed look in Itachi's eyes. "What?"

His brow furrowed, and he extended his hand. Reflexively, she reached out.

She gasped in alarm as her hand passed straight through his. Panicked, she examined her arms and found that she was rapidly turning translucent. "Itachi, I think I'm being reverse summoned-"

She cut off with a loud pop. Sakura just disappeared, chakra signature and all. There was nothing left in her place except for a smear of what could only be slug slime.

Sasuke swore.

* * *

Tsunade waited patiently, her arms crossed in front of her ample chest as she watched the air in front of her ripple and writhe. It wasn't long before Katsuyu materialized before her, nodding her bulbous head respectfully in greeting.

"Thank you." Tsunade gestured, inclining her head at the slug. "Here is fine."

The slug opened her mouth, revealing a slime-covered kunoichi.

Sakura hit the ground with a crash, trying and failing to hold in a retch. She gasped for air, trying vainly to wipe the slug slime off of her face and neck. Coughing desperately, she struggled into a sitting position, staring right into Tsunade's characteristic sandals.

"Tsunade-sama?" She peered upwards into the emotional gaze of her teacher. Tsunade hauled Sakura to her feet, wrapping her in a bone crushing hug before she could protest.

"Sensei, the slime-"

"I don't give a shit about the slime," Tsunade growled, stepping back to appraise her student. "You look like hell."

Sakura gave a weak laugh as she stepped back, surveying the forest around them. "Sensei, I'm happy to see you, but summoning me was dangerous-"

"I know. But we need to talk. Shikkotsu forest was the safest place that I could think of."

"Itachi and Sasuke will be freaking out right about now," Sakura murmured, shaking slime off of her arms.

Tsunade's eyes widened in surprise and she leaned forwards. "So it's true? Sasuke is alive?"

"Yes, more or less." She launched into an explanation of what had happened when she'd escaped. Tsunade's gasp of surprise didn't faze her as she pressed on. Finally, she detailed her plan for reanimating Sasuke, pausing when she caught a glimpse of Tsunade's expression.

"So Fugaku's plan failed, this is excellent."

"Yeah, except that Sasuke's in a host that's too fragile for my comfort." Sakura ran a hand through her hair, flicking away the slime that came free. "I've commissioned a body made, but I honestly don't know if I can reanimate him by myself."

"You should be able to, with little issue," Tsunade started, choosing her words very carefully. "However, you may run into a snag."

"You mean the human sacrifice? I can't find any texts that will allow me to bypass that. Itachi doesn't know that part, I'm afraid that he'd offer himself."

"Yes." Tsunade sighed deeply, clearly troubled. "You need enough critical chakra in the host for Sasuke to transfuse into the body. Without that, it's more or less just a jar that will hold him."

"That's why he was able to commandeer my body?" Sakura's eyebrow's shot straight up, suddenly reminding Tsunade of Naruto.

"Yes, I assume so. I'm normally against human sacrifice, but I'm afraid we're in a complicated position." Tsunade said delicately, trying and failing to hide her discomfort of the situation. "You're right; Itachi isn't a good choice, as noble as it would be for him to step up for his brother."

"He would do it, so I need to find a-" Sakura cut off abruptly, her head snapping up. "Wait, there's a member of the Akatsuki who can't die, maybe he can-"

"Sakura, we both know that it won't work. The moment that he comes back from his death trance, the chakra that fuels Sasuke's body will be returned to him."

Sakura dropped her head into her hands, her anxiety winding through her veins. She felt cold and sick at the same time. "I don't know if I can bring myself to kill anyone."

"Sasuke will turn the tide, Sakura. I hate to say it, but we need him. Two and a half sharingans might be enough to take on Fugaku and Orochimaru."

"Half?"

Tsunade smiled wryly, tapping the left side of her face. "Kakashi's somewhat of a reluctant general, but he's with us until the end of the line."

Sakura chuckled, trying to imagine her former teacher as a commanding officer. "Somehow I can't picture it."

Tsunade was suddenly very serious, and Sakura was dreading her next question. "Sakura, I need to know if you can also use the sharingan."

She shook her head, hugging her arms to her chest. "No, only when Sasuke was using my body. It's not my chakra. I actually started to experience some serious side effects within a couple of days; that's why he's in the crow clone."

"Hm."

"It won't matter how many sharingans we have on our side if Fugaku can get to Naruto."

Tsunade's expression clouded over, and she began to pace. "You're sure that he has the ability to do so?"

"Itachi said as much. Shisui's sharingan is apparently the most powerful of his generation."

"I see," Tsunade said quietly, pursing her lips in thought. "So Fugaku can access the power of the tailed beasts, but does he know how to do it?"

"That's what I'm afraid of." Sakura re-crossed her arms, tapping her forefinger against her arm. "There doesn't seem to be anything conclusive, unless there's more that Itachi didn't get a chance to tell me. "

"Ask him. In the meantime…" Tsunade trailed off, glancing at Sakura out of the corner of her eye. "Tell me what happened with Konohamaru."

Sakura slumped down onto the gnarled roots of an ancient tree. She put her head in her hands, fighting the urge to weep. She sighed deeply and began to speak.

"Kisame and I were sent to find a child. On the way there I suggested that we split up when I sensed a squad ahead of us. Konohamaru was able to sense me, even with my chakra masked, and he was intent on taking me back to Konoha."

She knew that she sounded hopeless, and her voice trembled as she recalled the fateful encounter.

"Kisame doubled back when he heard that we were fighting, and mistakenly attempted to save my life. The chakra was sucked out of Konohamaru's body by Samehada."

Tsunade let out a long breath, schooling her expression into one of neutrality. "I suspected that he would have challenged you. He was a talented shinobi, but so much like Naruto that I feared that something would happen to him."

"I tried to persuade him to keep moving." Sakura's voice cracked as she fought to get her emotions back under control.

"Sakura, no one thinks that you did anything on purpose." Tsunade said gently, regarding her student with empathy. "He's been taken back to Konoha and buried in his family plot. Asuma doesn't hold a grudge against you."

"He should." Sakura's vision blurred as her eyes filled with tears.

Tsunade had the good sense to sit down next to her and change the subject. "Who was the child?"

"Raiton's daughter. Her name is Yuki."

Tsunade sprang to her feet, a triumphant glint in her eye. "I suspected as much. Neji and Ino managed to break Raiton enough to get him to admit that he has a child."

"She's under Kabuto's care. He says that she isn't a test subject, but why else would they keep her?"

"Leverage, I'm sure. Raiton is just a code name." Tsunade's eyebrows lifted at Sakura's lack of a reaction. "But you already knew that."

"Yeah, Sasuke figured it out."

Tsunade sighed, drumming her hands on her knees in frustration. "Until we know why, it doesn't help us much."

"Do you trust his information?"

"Not entirely, no. But if Orochimaru still has the kid then he wouldn't hesitate to do what's necessary to get her back. Ino reported that he was nearly frantic with worry when she brought up the child."

"Get her working on what Orochimaru's plan is. It's no wonder that he was so quick to give Raiton up, he means nothing to him." Sakura almost whistled in appreciation, grudgingly impressed by Orochimaru's planning. "I have to admit that I'm worried that there's a reason for it."

"I'll start researching; see if I can find another way to reanimate Sasuke. In the meantime, keep doing what you're doing. Anything that you can find out about Orochimaru's intentions for Konoha will help us. I'll kill Raiton if I have to."

Tsunade's expression darkened, she was clearly deep in thought.

"I hate to suggest this, but it might be a good idea to talk to Fugaku." Sakura said quietly, avoiding Tsunade's questioning glare.

"If he's provided with the right motivation he might join forces with you. Once Orochimaru is taken care of, then you two can fight it out."

Tsunade laughed softly, but there was no humour in her tone. "And tell him what, exactly?"

Sakura met her gaze steadily, the determination apparent in her eyes. "Tell him that Orochimaru was able to reanimate Sasuke. He has the sharingan that he wants now."

Tsunade laughed, shaking her head. "Y'know that might actually work."

"And the child, she needs to be taken out of the equation. If Lady Katsuyu doesn't mind helping, we could get Yuki to safety. That might get rid of any plans that Orochimaru has for Nawa."

"I like that idea. We can give her to Kakashi to babysit." Tsunade chuckled. "And Fugaku? Have you caught wind of anything coming my way?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"Damn it!"

Sakura smirked, raising an eyebrow at the Hokage. "I'm sure you can find a reason to lock him up."

"Oh, you can count on that." Tsunade glowered, her beautiful features twisting into a mask of hatred. "I may pay him a visit tonight."

"Is there any chance that you could send me back before you do that? Itachi and Sasuke will be concerned."

Tsunade laughed, gesturing behind Sakura where the slug queen waited patiently. "Take a bath, would ya?"

"You couldn't pay me to wait."

"Be careful, kid."

"You too."

* * *

Deidara whistled tunelessly as he worked. He was starting to like this project, as reluctant as he had been at the start. Under his skillful hand, the statue was starting to take shape. His impression of Sasuke was tall, lightly muscled, and infinitely better looking than Itachi.

_Take that, asshole. No one insults my art._

He continued to whistle, his hands dripping with clay slip. He didn't even seem to mind that it was dripping down his arms and into his shoes. He glanced up impatiently as the door to his workshop swung open. "Sakura, I told you that I'd-"

He cut off mid-sentence as he realized who had just walked in. "Oh, it's you, hn."

"Hello Deidara, Working on anything interesting?" Kabuto strode into the room, casting an interested glance at the various statues and prototypes scattered around the room.

"Yes." Deidara answered shortly, returning to smoothing out Sasuke's left leg. "I'm busy."

Kabuto stepped behind him, appraising the craftsmanship. Deidara was working too intently to notice the flash of interest in his eyes as he stared at the statue. "Well, well, well. Who is this?"

"A passion project." Deidara's glance flicked over Kabuto, he didn't trust him, or even like him much.

"Looks an awful lot like Itachi, doesn't he?"

"He's better looking. And yes, that's the point, hn."

Kabuto's gaze turned predatory, his glasses reflected the light straight into Deidara's eyes. He dropped the pretense of ignorance quickly, his curiosity clearly getting the better of him. "Why are you building a statue of Sasuke Uchiha, Deidara?"

Deidara couldn't explain it, but a shiver of unease trickled down his spine.  _Oh man, Sakura what the hell have you put me in the middle of?_

* * *

Fugaku blew out the last lamp, relishing the resulting darkness. He stretched, feeling the release in his muscles as the tension was washed away.  The Uchiha quarter administration was a chore that he would have gladly delegated if he trusted anyone else to do the job properly.

He clambered to his feet, tipping his tea cup to his mouth. He swallowed the dregs of the brew, grimacing as the bitter taste made his jaw clench. He ignored the shimmering shape of Shisui in the corner of the room, walking down the hallway to his sleeping quarters. He felt the numbing effects of the tea immediately, they dulled his senses and teased him with the promise of a deep sleep.

He mulled over his plan for the next day in his head, a flicker of excitement growing in his belly.  _Finally, I will be in a position to further my interests._

Turning the corner and sliding the door open, he was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't sense the presence of Neji Hyuuga behind him. All it took was two quick, precise jabs to his chakra points. Everything faded to black.  

He hit the ground hard, already unconscious.

He opened his eyes to a dark room with a single guttering candle. He was strapped to a chair, his wrists roughly encased in chakra-neutralizing bracers. He struggled for a moment, searching for a weakness in them; he found none.

Cursing quietly, he steeled himself for whatever was about to come through the doorway. He wasn't sure how long he'd been out, but it wasn't long enough for the tea to have been flushed through his system. He still felt slightly dopey, and the shimmering apparitions of Shisui and Mikoto watched silently from the corner of his peripheral vision.

His head popped up as the door swung open. He felt his hackles rise as Tsunade entered, flanked by Shikamaru Nara and the blasted Copy Ninja.

"Tsunade, I should have known." His mouth felt like it had been filled with sand, and his eyes burned as she slowly lit several more candles.

"Good evening, Fugaku," she said smoothly, her tone giving no indication of her mood. "Comfortable?"

"Go to hell." He hissed, trying and failing to intimidate her.

She sat in the chair opposite him, gesturing behind her at her two companions. "You've met my associates, I'm sure. I'm assuming that you're curious as to why you're here. I thought that knocking you out might help us avoid a scene at the council meeting tomorrow.  Given the nonsense that you spouted at the last one, you can't blame me for taking precautions."

_"Oh, I like her."_ Mikoto murmured, and Fugaku shook his head to clear it of her voice. He couldn't afford to be distracted.

"What do you want?" His tone was venomous, and she raised one eyebrow at the expression on his face. _Bitch._

"Firstly, I should tell you that Sasuke sends his regards.  You knew that he's alive already, but it's nice to have it confirmed."

"What?!"

"Secondly," she continued as if she hadn't heard him, "I want to know why your system is filled with psilocybin and psilocin, as well as some kind of crystallized chakra."

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about." Fugaku was still in shock, his mind whirled, trying to make sense of what she was telling him.

"It's poison, Fugaku. The kind that causes insanity. How did it get in your system?"

"But Sasuke, how?"

"We'll get to that later. Answer the question." He noticed then that she was trembling with rage.

"I don't know!" He spat, struggling against his bonds. "I would never take anything, Uchiha don't need to augment their abilities."

"Whose chakra is in your body?"

"I don't know!"

Shikamaru crossed his arms, glaring at the Uchiha patriarch. "It's gotta be in that tea he sucks down twice a day."

Tsunade regarded Fugaku for a moment, her eyes thoughtful.  _As soon as I get out of here I'm going to kill you._

"How long have you been Orochimaru's pawn?"

His blood ran cold and his head whipped up to stare at her.

_I've been betrayed._


	28. Clarity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsunade makes a deal with the devil. Sakura learns the truth about Orochimaru's plans, and he threatens to shatter everything that she holds dear.

"How long have you been Orochimaru's pawn?"

Tsunade stood up and began to pace, ignoring the glare of her captive.  She would have been concerned about his mangekyou if his chakra hadn't already been sealed away by the bracers, but knowing that he was currently powerless helped her to breathe easier. 

She had despised this man for years, but it was strangely cathartic to make peace with him.  Tsunade wasn't about to forgive or clear him of his crimes, but they currently had bigger problems to deal with.  _I can ignore my personal feelings for a little while._

She mulled over her thoughts, finally coming to a decision that she hoped wouldn't haunt her.  "Fugaku,  I know about your deal with Orochimaru.  But I fear that he's been using you for years, not the other way around."

He sat rigidly in his bonds, the feral look in his eyes confirming all of her suspicions.  Finally, he nodded, watching her intently.  "Apparently I have been betrayed."

"By whom, exactly?"

"I don't know," he growled, his jaw clenching in fury, "Orochimaru ceased to be an ally to me months ago."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow in surprise.   _I didn't know that._

"You're being awfully honest."  Kakashi spoke up suddenly, hidden in the shadows.  "Why now?"

"I know that I've been found out, what is the point of feigning ignorance?"  Fugaku shook his head, never taking his eyes off of the Hokage, "It does me no good to lie.  If there's anything to be gained out of this, I am interested in pursuing it." 

Tsunade had to grudgingly admit that he would have been too much to handle if the poison hadn't been playing havoc with his mind.  Clearly he was highly intelligent.   _If his logic is this sound when he's_ _compromised_ _, I don't want to think about what he could have done if he was in pristine condition._

"Kakashi suspects that your steward is your handler, Orochimaru is nothing if not thorough. He plays a long-term game. The timing works out too well. Our intelligence confirmed that he spends a lot of time snooping around."

"He couldn't be, he's a fool when it comes to strategy-"

"When did he come to you?"  Tsunade interrupted him, crossing her arms.  "Was it right after your brother died?"

Fugaku stared at her, taken aback. "Yes, but-"

"And he has maneuvered himself so as to be your most trusted adviser who brings you both advice, and the tea that you are addicted to?"

Fugaku stayed silent, clearly cowed by the extent of her knowledge.  

"Was he the person who suggested Orochimaru as the best choice of an ally for your rebellion's chances?"  Tsunade wasn't sure that it was wise to throw all of her cards on the table, but she was a betting woman.  She knew that he had nothing left to lose. 

"What don't you know?"  He said tiredly, almost sagging in the chair as he let out a deep sigh.  "It would appear that I've not been as careful as I should have been." 

"Very little has escaped our notice.  Orochimaru's managed to reanimate Sasuke, now you have another powerful enemy.  He, Itachi, and Sakura are all working together now.  Taking revenge on Konoha is the next logical step.  If you unseat me and become the Hokage, you will damn us all."

He didn't say anything for a moment, clearly thinking hard.  "If Orochimaru has two sharingans on his side then we are heading for a war."

"We are already there, Fugaku.  Your actions have led us to that particular cliff.  What I want to avoid is the involvement of the Akatsuki if at all possible."

"They wouldn't dare attack Konoha-"

"They do dare.  One of our own has already been killed by the Akatsuki.  But before we talk about anything else, I need your mind clear of the poison," Tsunade interrupted, fixing him with a steely glare. 

She disliked throwing Sakura under the bus, but she knew that she had to find a way to neutralize the threat of the tailed beasts; this was the only thing that she could think of.   Her gambit was dangerous, but she felt that she had little choice in the matter.  

Fugaku grimaced, clearly the thought of ridding his body of the drug gave him pain.  "I have a clear mind, I have no need of your treatment!" 

Shikamaru let out a quiet laugh, clearly incredulous.  "Clear mind?  You're hallucinating right now, aren't you?" 

Kakashi nodded his agreement, leaning forward out of the shadows.  "His eyes are constantly flicking to the corners of the room, I don't know what he's seeing, but the poisoning has advanced to the point where he can interact with his hallucinations." 

"Given your condition, any decision that you make isn't entirely your fault, however that does  _not_ excuse you or redeem you in any way.  Redemption is too far out of your grasp."  Tsunade said quietly, sitting down opposite him. 

"We have been circling each other for years, and your attempts to undermine the stability of this village have led to the deaths of several great shinobi."

She sighed. 

"You have murdered members of your own family, and made clumsy attempts on the lives of others.  You may have also signed the death warrant for this village in working with my greatest enemy.  But with that being said, I think we're at a crossroads.  Either you work with me, or I find a way to kill you.  Believe me, Fugaku, at this point it would be my pleasure to do so."

He said nothing, the look in his eyes was clearer than she had seen it for some time.  "What would you have me do?  If I am as treasonous as you believe, then why not just kill me?"

"I could use you, for now.  You'll stay here until the morning, at which time I will smuggle you into the hospital and rid your body of the toxin.  Then, we can talk.  Tomorrow, at the council meeting, we must provide a united front." 

"What are the effects of the toxin?"

"Rage, irrational behavior, fits of fury, hallucinations, delusions of grandeur, among others."  She replied, watching him closely for any reaction.  "While I think that you're little better than scum, there is still a use for you.  We'll also find out whose chakra is in your veins."

"I have been at the mercy of Orochimaru for years, Tsunade.  Nothing you could find at this point would surprise me."

"Do you regret anything?"  She found that her voice was soft, and she was saddened by her own question.  

"Everything that I have done was in service to my family and my home.  If I have to burn Konoha to save it, I won't hesitate." Fugaku's tone had regained some if his characteristic fury, but Tsunade wasn't affected by it. 

She sat up straighter, her tone leaving no room for argument.  

"I'm not asking for your help, Fugaku.  I am demanding it.  If you truly care about this village then you will do everything in your damn power to save it!"  She hissed, slamming her hands down on the table in frustration. 

"You're assuming that I would willingly work with a Senju,"  Fugaku snapped, finally regaining his former hostility, "our rivalry is not satisfied."

"I agree, however, given the severity of your crimes against Konoha, I hold your life in my hands.  But you have a bigger problem to deal with."

"Such as?"  His tone was cold, but expectant.  

"There are some who may call for the complete extermination of the Uchiha clan should I come forward with my information. I can veto that decision." 

And just like that, with one move, Tsunade had retained the upper hand.  Anything that Fugaku had been planning was now rendered entirely moot, he now understood how precarious his situation had become.

"Tsunade, what would you have me do?" The expression in his eyes verged on desperate; everything that he had worked for was threatened.  If the Uchiha were eliminated, he would have nothing left.  A great house would be lost; the kekkei genkai would be lost! 

"First, we put any thoughts of a mutiny to rest," she said carefully, watching him like a hawk, "and then, we kill Orochimaru."

"And my traitor of a steward?" 

"We'll take care of him.  You have some serious work to do, Fugaku.  I will never forgive you, or forget what you have done, but for your sake I hope you can make something of your miserable life.  You can pray that your sons will grant you mercy, but I doubt it."

"Very well.  I agree to help you."

Kakashi laughed softly, but there was no humor in the sound. "You don't have a choice."

* * *

Juugo's chains rattled, sending echoes through the cavern.  Sakura jumped at the sound, completely missing his vein with her needle. 

She managed to stop herself from stabbing him, but just in time. 

"Sorry!  I don't mean to be so skittish."  She said hurriedly, flapping her hand at the gigantic man who sat next to her.  

The corner of his mouth ticked up, displaying a boyish dimple.  "It's fine.  I should have warned you that I was about to move." 

She found herself smiling back at him, redirecting her attention to the task at hand.  "I have to admit, you make me a little nervous.  The stories of the curse marks are nothing to sniff at." 

She wasn't afraid to be frank with Juugo.  Sakura had already spent enough time with him to know that he was a kind man; she trusted him.  

His smile disappeared, and he looked down at his feet.  "That's why I'm here.  I have no desire to hurt anyone." 

"And the curse marks?"  Sakura glanced up through her bangs, impressed at his stoicism as she slipped the needle into his vein.  Dark blood quickly began to flow into her vial, and she made a mental note to take a small sample for her own research.  Subtly, she slipped an extra vial onto the tube, keeping a close eye on his reaction.  

He sighed, clearly unbothered by the amount of blood she was drawing from him.  "It is concerning, I won't lie to you.  But a friend of mine did me a favor in telling me to come here." 

"A friend?"

His eyes softened, and he paused for a moment.  "Yeah.  His name was Kimimaro.  Orochimaru-sama was training him to be his disciple, but he died years ago." 

"I'm sorry," she murmured placing a bandage on the puncture wound, "That must have been hard for you." 

"It was.  He had the most remarkable kekkei genkai."  His expression still held a hint of softness, and Sakura felt a stab of pity for the gentle giant.  

"Oh?" 

"He could manipulate his bones.  Use them as weapons or as a shield.  He was the only person who could calm my rages when we were younger."  He said softly, taking a deep breath.  "He fell ill, and even Kabuto-sama couldn't save him. He died when we were teenagers, and he asked me to do anything in my power to help Orochimaru-sama.  That's why I stayed." 

Sakura let out a long breath that she hadn't realized that she was holding.  "I understand.  I lost someone who was very important to me too." 

 "We can't escape our destiny, I suppose."  He said wistfully, glancing up towards the sunlight filtering into his cave.  "I can only hope to fulfill Kimimaro's wishes."  

“Juugo,” she began carefully, treading lightly around the subject in case she’d overstepped, “Would you continue to help Orochimaru if you knew that he was planning something that might hurt thousands of people?”

“Ah.  That I don’t know.”  He said quietly, staring at his hands.  “It would depend on the situation, but I wouldn’t want harm to come to anyone because of me.”

“I know, I think I just needed to hear that.”

“Did you want to know for any particular reason?”

“No, just curious.”  The lie fell easily from her lips.  She was almost relieved when he abruptly changed the subject.  

“Do you need anything else from me for Kabuto-sama’s research?”

"I don’t.  I'm really sorry to rush off," Sakura stood up and dusted off her shorts, "but I have to get your blood back to the lab.  Can I come and visit you tomorrow?"  

He glanced over at her, his eyes thoughtful.  It was almost as if he'd forgotten that she was there.  "I'd like that.  See you then." 

Waving goodbye, she darted up the small staircase, discreetly tucking the extra vial of blood into her pocket.  The vials clinked gently as she knocked on the door to the lab.  She heard a quiet response from within and opened the door.

Kabuto was hunched over a microscope, using a scalpel to push small beads of liquid around on a slide.  “Thanks, Sakura.  Can you put the vials over there?”

“Sure.” 

_He still doesn't trust me enough to let me work in here, huh._

She was in the middle of placing the samples in a small storage unit filled with ice when she felt Kabuto’s chakra suddenly spike.  In the span of a second, he had crossed the room to stand behind her.  The hair on the back of her neck stood up, and she had to fight her instinct to flinch away. 

“Uh, can I help you?”  She muttered, catching a glimpse of him in her peripheral vision as she very subtly shifted her weight and let a controlled stream of chakra flood into her balled fist. 

“Yes, I think you can,” he murmured, and she heard the small _snick_ as he unsheathed a kunai, “There are a few things that I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

She didn’t say anything, just slowly turned around.  The look in his eye sent cold dread into the pit of her stomach, he was eyeing her the way that a snake would watch a cornered mouse.  “Go ahead.”

He tapped the flat of the blade absentmindedly against his chin, but his eyes never left her.  “I happened to visit Deidara the other day, and he mentioned that you commissioned him to build a statue of Sasuke Uchiha.  Why?”

Her heart skipped a beat, but she managed to school her features into a neutral expression.  “I did.  Itachi and I wanted to give him a proper grave.  We don’t have his body so we thought that a small memorial would be better.”

He seemed slightly taken aback by her answer, but his eyes hadn’t lost their sharp edge.  “Funny, I would have suspected that you’re trying to resurrect him.”

Sakura shook her head, allowing her hair to fall over her eyes.  “I don’t have enough chakra to do that, besides, I’m not about to sacrifice anyone to bring him back.  We were teammates, but I wouldn’t say that we were friends.”

“Hm, interesting.”  He abruptly resheathed the blade and took a step closer to her.  The ominous aura in the air radiated off his skin and she instinctively stepped back, bumping into the table behind her.  She still hadn’t reabsorbed her chakra. 

“I heard something else that makes me wonder what you’re hiding.”  He murmured, his tone sending shivers of fright down her spine. 

She bit back the urge to flee and forced herself to roll her eyes.  _I have to go on the offensive._

“Seriously, Kabuto?  I’ve been here for months; if I was going to betray you I probably would have done it already.” 

She was rewarded with a slight widening of his eyes.  He covered up his surprise by adjusting his glasses.  She pressed on.  “You’re wondering about the crow that follows me around, aren’t you?”

“How did you-“

“Kisame and Orochimaru asked me the same thing.  Itachi’s got a crow contract, and Sasuke is the leader of the murder.”

“The leader of the...”

“Murder, yes.  That’s the name for a group of crows.  He talks because he’s got the most chakra.  Surely you've seen a similar phenomenon with one of Manda’s children?”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, just crossed his arms and appraised her.  “Why is he called Sasuke?”

She shrugged, walking across the room and away from him.  “Itachi’s a sentimental guy.  Can you blame him?  The brothers were separated when they were pretty young; it was his way of being closer to Sasuke.”

Inwardly, she groaned.  _Itachi’s not going to be impressed if he hears about what I just said._    _Sasuke might be super annoyed with me too._

“I see.” 

She snuck a glance at his microscope and scanned it with her chakra threads.  He was studying mutagens, which intrigued her.  “What else do you want to know?”

“Can you use the sharingan?” 

His bluntness surprised her, and she let out a panicked laugh. “What?  Are you crazy?  Of course I can’t!”

“Then why did I hear that you used one when you escaped Konoha?”  His tone was deep and menacing, and she glanced back at him to see that he was striding towards her.  She gulped, hoping fervently that he couldn’t hear the hammering of her heartbeat. 

“G-genjutsu.  I was using genjutsu to take the Uchiha off guard.”  She finally managed to blurt out, taking another hurried step backwards.  “They were coming at me in a swarm and it was the only thing that I could think of.”

“Hm.” 

“Anything that you heard is just a blown up rumor.”  She forced a small smile on her face and set her arms on the table, trying to radiate innocence.  “If you ever want to know something, just ask.”

She let out a quiet sigh of relief, mistaken in her belief that she’d persuaded him to drop the subject.  She realized a split-second too late that she was in danger. 

She barely had time to throw up a block before she was slammed backwards, crashing over the table behind her to land hard on the stone floor.  She glanced up, struggling to pull air back into her lungs as Kabuto lunged forwards, his kunai at the perfect angle to gouge her eye out.  She lurched backwards, moving just enough to avoid his strike, and then darted forwards to get under his guard.

She hit him with a chakra scalpel right across his ribs, forcing him to take a step backwards as a line of bright blood bloomed across his shirt.  “Kabuto, what the hell are you doing?!”

“Testing a theory-“  He was interrupted as she pressed the offensive, determined to take control of the situation.  She made the mistake of thinking that he was vulnerable, and the force of his kick to her diaphragm sent her crashing into the stone door.  She hit it with a crunch, sliding down to the floor with a thump.   

She coughed, blood spilling out of the corner of her mouth onto the floor.  Sakura spat the metallic liquid out, grimacing in pain.  _Is he trying to kill me?_

She looked up through the curtain of her hair as he stalked towards her, his murderous expression sending a wave of panic through her body.  She forced chakra into her body, healing her internal wounds as she sprang to her feet.  Sakura wasn’t fast enough to throw up another block, her limbs were moving sluggishly as shock began to wind its way through her system. 

Kabuto’s arm caught her on the throat and he slammed her backwards into the door.  She saw stars as her head hit the stone and her hands came up to scrabble at his forearm.  “K-Kabuto!  _Let go_!”

_I can't breathe!_

Her vision began to get foggy from lack of oxygen, and she could feel her body weakening. 

Suddenly, she was on the floor again, coughing hard and sucking air back into her protesting lungs.  She looked up at him, tears streaming down her face as she fought to focus. 

“What the _hell_ is your problem?!”  She rasped, her hand coming up to rub at the angry bruises forming on her neck. 

“So you really don’t have a sharingan.” He said thoughtfully, kneeling down beside her.  She flinched away as he reached out a hand to help her up.  She didn’t take it, glaring at him as she healed her aching windpipe.

“Don’t touch me, you psycho.”  She spat at him, struggling to her feet on her own.  “I told you that I didn’t have one.  What-“ she broke off with a fit of coughing, “-did you think was going to happen?!”

“Well, a sharingan presents itself when the user is under stress or experiencing strong emotions.”  Kabuto walked across the room and picked his chair up from the floor.  “So, the only thing to do was to put you in that kind of situation.”

She felt a shiver of fright at his calm, unruffled demeanor. 

“So you thought that you’d take a crack at killing me in case it popped out?!”  Now that Sakura wasn’t afraid for her life, she was livid. 

It took every ounce of her control to stop herself from killing Kabuto.  He’d managed to catch her off guard with his sudden attack; she wasn’t going to let him get close to her again. 

He simply looked at her over his glasses.  “Now I can tell Orochimaru that you don’t have it.  Surely this was a better alternative to me sedating you, cutting you open, and then finding out that you can’t use a kekkei genkai after you’ve been disfigured?”

She thought that her heart might drop into her stomach at his words.  She leaned against the stone door for support, still waiting for her wounds to finish healing.  She glowed faintly as her chakra worked, giving her pinched expression an eerie green cast.  Kabuto’s expression was smug, and she bit back a stream of insults.  _You sick bastard._

Finally, as her bleeding stopped and strength flooded back into her limbs, she found her voice.  “If you ever try anything like that again, I will kill you.”

“That won’t be necessary.”  He had already turned back to his research, clearly unbothered by the mess of glass and broken equipment that lay around him. 

She hated that her voice trembled, but she couldn’t stop the panic that was still winding through her body.  “Just so we’re clear, I will not be teaching you anymore.  Find another damn guinea pig.”

Without waiting for a reply, she wrenched the door open and darted out into the hallway.  Once she was safely up a dozen of the staircases, Sakura reached into her bra and eased the mutagen slide that she'd stolen out from its hiding place. 

She’d slipped it off the research desk and into her clothes barely a minute before Kabuto had attacked her.

She sighed in relief when she took stock of her gear and felt that the vial of Juugo’s blood was still, miraculously, intact.  _I need to test these._   _If my theory is right, then we’ve got a situation on our hands._

 _Itachi can never know about this, he’ll come rushing down here to kill Kabuto._ Her hand strayed to her neck, where her skin still throbbed.  She painstakingly healed the last of the bruises, not stopping until her skin was completely unblemished.  Shakily, she climbed the rest of the stairs and hurried through the dark corridors until she reached the courtyard.

It was raining so hard that the water was splashing up from the ground, and she dashed through it, intent on making it to her office before she was waylaid by another member of the Akatsuki.  She made it back to her office quickly, but she was soaked through. 

She darted over to the desk and began to organize her supplies.  Within moments, she was completely set up, already taking notes.  First, she examined the mutagen, finding with some surprise that it was completely dormant. 

_That’s odd.  If the mutagen is what drives the curse marks, then what makes it work?_

Sakura did notice that the properties of the mutagen were entirely unique; she’d never seen anything quite like it. If she mixed it with several drops of saline solution it absorbed them and rearranged the cellular structure of the salt, creating a shape not unlike a snowflake.  She was fascinated by the movements within the mutagen’s tiny cell wall.  Poking and prodding with her chakra, she drew back her hand with a gasp of pain as the mutagen attacked, sending out tiny spears of chakra to force her away from its walls. 

 _Whoa!  So the curse mark would kill me after all_.  She shuddered to think of what would have happened if she’d allowed Orochimaru to mark her.  _My body would have torn itself apart._

Next, she examined Juugo’s blood.  It seemed quite normal to her, but then again, she knew that Juugo was anything but.  _Is it the senjutsu mixed with the mutagen that activates the mark, or is it the recipient’s chakra that activates the senjutsu and the mark as one?_

She suddenly had an idea.  Drawing a kunai out of her pack, she made a tiny cut on her thumb and allowed a small drop of her blood to fall directly on the mutagen.  It reacted instantly, creating enough heat to warm the air around her.  A faint keening filled the air and suddenly she knew that she’d stumbled across something big. 

Something she wasn’t supposed to know.

She gasped and jumped to her feet.  The chakra in her drop of blood was changing, becoming what she could only describe as feral.  Her blood began to shimmer, tearing itself apart and isolating the chakra into a shimmering fleck of green in a small pool of scarlet. 

Her knees nearly gave out as she recognized the way that her chakra was responding to the mutagen.  _The blade that cut Naruto!  Orochimaru made it from Juugo’s mutagens!_  

Her blood ran cold as her mind whirred through the events of Naruto’s wounding. 

_“Yeah, that hurt worse than anything I’ve ever dealt with.  Sakura’s chakra was just evaporating; Kurama couldn’t control the output of his chakra anymore so it kind of exploded out into me.”_

Her mind flashed to the moment that she’d realized that Naruto was in real danger. 

_Naruto was doubled over, gasping as he tried to regain control. He glanced up and made eye contact with Sakura and she almost fell over in shock as she ran; his eyes can turned from blue to bright orange with cat-like slits._

_Naruto cut off and grabbed his stomach as a wave of pain rocked his body. Waves of heat began to radiate from him, warming up to air to an uncomfortable temperature._

_“Don’t speak, concentrate!” Sakura shushed him, and pulled out a scroll from her back that held a basic sealing jutsu. “Do you need this to help?”_

_“I can’t control it, Sakura-“ Naruto cut off again as his body continued to spasm. “-get a b-bird to Tsunade, I need Itachi to p-put me down.”_

_“No, Naruto!”  She was forced to step back as the heat radiating off of his body became too hot to handle. “You can do this!”_

_“T-there’s too m-much damage to the s-seal!” It was in that moment that she knew he was right, his wound was dripping profusely, and the ground was soaked with blood._

_“Why isn’t he healing?!” Itachi demanded as he landed beside them._

_“I don’t know! The blade was made of something I’ve never seen before!”_

_“Sakura, he’s getting worse!”_

“No, no, no!”  Sakura muttered as she threw her office door open and ran as fast as her legs would take her to Orochimaru’s vast library. 

She nearly smacked into Sasuke, who had just flapped into the outdoor causeway outside of her office.  “Sasuke!"

_“What’s got you all freaked out?”_

“There’s no time to explain-“  She waved a hand at him to follow her and doubled her pace, running so fast that her legs were a blur. 

Sasuke swooped down beside her, clearly irritated that she wouldn’t share what was on her mind.  _“Are you going to tell me what’s going on, or am I going to have to guess?”_

“Sasuke, find Itachi, now!  I’ll be in the library!”  She called over her shoulder, not waiting for a reply as she dashed through a shortcut.

_I’ve been such an idiot!_

She darted down the aisles between the bookshelves, searching for the one thing that she hoped she wouldn’t find.

_“The chakra is bonding with his cells, creating an unsuitable environment for the Nine-Tails.  He doesn’t have much time, Sakura.”_

The section on the sharingan, there it was.  Filled to overflowing with forbidden medical tomes, data scrolls, and diagrams, she couldn’t count how much information Orochimaru had collected.  _How many lives were lost stealing this information?_

The book with the most worn spine fell open to a page that was dog-eared and covered with handwritten notes.

_The Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan is a technique only used by certain Uchiha, given that the price of attaining one is not for the faint of heart…_

There were three names written in the margins: Itachi, Sasuke, and Shisui Uchiha.  The last name had been circled with red ink.

She felt a tear slip down her cheek.

Spinning on her heel, she felt her pulse stutter with anxiety as she found the next section that she’d been looking for.  Just as Itachi had said, the most recent Land of Fire genealogy scroll was lying neatly on the top of the tall stack.  She reached for it with trembling hands, unrolling it and scanning the information for one name. 

Her skin erupted with goosebumps as she traced her finger down the line labelled “Uzumaki”.  Naruto’s name was outlined with red ink, confirming her worst fears. 

“No!” 

Running to the opposite side of the cavern, she scaled a tall ladder to find a book labelled “ _An Unofficial Recent History of the Village Hidden in the Leaves_.”

She slammed it open, scanning the opening paragraphs with a shaking hand.  She nearly let out a gasp of panic when she found it. 

_The attack of the Nine-Tailed Fox was barely thwarted by the brave sacrifice of the Fourth Hokage…It is long suspected that the Uchiha and Senju rivalry that has spanned generations was the driving factor for the attack..._

_“_ It’s not Fugaku,” she breathed, scaling slowly down the ladder and sliding to the ground with a thump, “It’s been Orochimaru all along.  We’ve all been pawns.”

_We’ve done everything that he wants.  His plan was perfect.  Orochimaru killed Fugaku’s brother, creating a reason for him to want to take over Konoha.  He created “Raiton”, forcing Tsunade-sama to send her most trusted subordinates and the Nine-Tails out of the village.  That's why we were attacked twice.  There was never a rendezvous, he was using the opportunity to attack Naruto and find out if he can use Juugo’s chakra to create an army and release the Kyuubi._

_He killed the Third Hokage, but why?  To make sure that Fugaku was indebted to him?_

Then she had a chilling thought.  One that sent ice through her veins and made goosebumps appear on her skin. 

_No.  No, he knows that the mangekyou sharingan can control the Nine-Tails.  He wants Fugaku as his new host!_

_He wants Konoha.  He wants everything.  If Fugaku messes everything up and gets killed for his crimes, then he still has a sharingan.  Itachi is the backup plan-_

Her whirling thoughts were interrupted by Itachi’s arrival.  He strode into the room, his steely expression softening slightly when he saw her slumped on the ground.  “Sasuke came and found me right away, what’s wrong?”

“Itachi, we’ve been tricked.”  Her voice cracked, and she couldn’t force anything more than a whisper out of her sore throat. 

“What did you find?” His concerned expression was her undoing; she couldn’t hold back her rioting emotions any longer. 

A tear rolled down her cheek, and she pressed a shaking hand to her mouth.  “We’ve made it possible for Orochimaru to take Konoha.”

“I was afraid of that.  Tell me everything.”


	29. Shattered Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sakura and Itachi discuss their plans to move forward. Tsunade attempts to remove the poison from Fugaku's body. Sakura and Sasuke take a calculated risk.

Itachi paced furiously, his brow furrowed in concern.  "I suspected that Orochimaru might be planning something, but the scale of his operation was bigger than I thought." 

“I’ve been so blind, Itachi, I’ve been working with Juugo for weeks! How did I miss what his chakra felt like?”

“Have you seen him in a rage?”

“No, but-“

“That’s probably why.  The chakra blade was volatile, completely unique.  I doubt anyone could have recognized it,” He glanced over at Sakura, who still sat on the floor, her head cradled in her hands.

"We're going to have to kill Juugo," he continued, his quiet footsteps echoing through the room. 

Her head snapped up, and he was almost dissuaded by the anguish in her eyes. "Itachi, there has to be another way-"

"If you have any ideas, I'm all ears."  He stopped pacing, taking a moment to survey the documents spread out in front of him on the large wooden reading table. 

"I can't find another solution.  If we stop the source of the berserker blades and eliminate any that Orochimaru has stored, we can head off his plans before he even gets close to my father and Naruto." 

“If he has your father’s sharingan, Orochimaru won’t need the blades.” Her eyes lit up, the fear in them shone through her concern for Juugo. 

“That doesn’t mean that he’s going to try and use my father’s body to release the Kyuubi.  It’s more likely that he’ll attack Naruto first.  It’ll both release the Nine-Tails and injure the host so badly that the beast can’t be resealed back into him.  Even with a sharingan on his side, Naruto’s too strong to ignore.”

Something dark flashed through Sakura’s expression; Itachi didn’t have to ask to know that she was remembering the scale of Naruto’s injuries. 

“You think that Orochimaru might try to make himself the new host?”  She whispered, biting her lip with worry. 

“Yeah.  You said that he needs a new body every decade or so, but with the chakra and healing capabilities of the Nine-Tails he could prolong his life indefinitely.”

“Itachi, we have to do something!”  She ran her hands through her hair in frustration, clearly fighting to keep her composure.  He felt a pang of worry; she was already running on fumes from the events of the past month. 

“We should start with Juugo-“

"Juugo is innocent, it's not his fault that the mutagen-" 

"And it's not our fault that my father is insane, but the hard choices have to be made  _now_. If we wait any longer and count on anyone else we could be dead before we have the chance to stop Orochimaru."  

“Let me brainstorm another way.  I won’t kill him unless it’s the absolute last resort.” 

“Okay,” he said grudgingly, quietly doubtful that there was another solution.  He was suddenly reminded of his ANBU training, sometimes ruthlessness was necessary.   

_“Sacrifice the few to save the many; this fact is crucial for the health of the hidden villages.  If you hesitate too long, your enemy will take advantage of your weakness.  Empathy has no place here.”_

Sakura had closed her eyes again, and he knew that she was thinking hard.  He wanted to assure her that they could help Konoha without spilling blood, but they would both know that it was a lie.  Itachi was always looking for another solution; killing was never his preferred course of action. 

But he felt like his back was against a wall. 

After the events of Konohamaru's death, he knew that she understood what had to be done.  _Come on, Sakura, think.  If you can find a way to get around it, I'll help, but-_

He was startled out of his thoughts as Sakura suddenly started to cough, trying in vain to hide that she was in pain.  "Haruno?" 

"I'm fine," she said weakly, avoiding his inquisitive gaze. 

He knelt in front of her, gently raising her chin up to get a better look at her.  The skin of her neck was faintly tinged with pink, and he felt a bolt of rage shoot through him.  She’d carefully kept her hair over her neck, hiding the irritation of her skin. 

"You're not fine.  You healed yourself.  What happened?"  His tone left no room for negotiation.

She sighed, exhaustion written plainly on her face.  "Kabuto." 

"And what, exactly, did Kabuto do?"  He felt his tone become steely, and he closed his eyes, searching for calm.  

"He cornered me down in the lab, he started asking questions about Sasuke's statue, and why Sasuke can talk. And then he-"  She cut off, her hesitation written all over her face.  

"Sakura-" 

"-I didn't want to tell you because I knew that you'd be furious-" 

"What did he do to you?!"  Itachi demanded, starting to pace again.  He wasn't used to the anxiety that flooded through his system; he was too worried to think rationally.  _Give me one reason that I shouldn't go down there and kill him right now-_

"He tried to force the sharingan to activate," she whispered, clearly unnerved by his explosive reaction, "He said he was testing a theory.  I'm fine, really.  He just bruised me." 

Itachi's face, which normally held a neutral expression, was pale with anger.  He didn't say anything, trying to calm the riot of emotions that he was feeling.  Rage, surprise, and fear swirled through him; he wasn't able to prize them apart.  

"Your chakra levels are down, you didn't use up that much healing  _bruises_."

She shifted uncomfortably.  "Okay, so maybe there was some internal bleeding that I had to take care of, but the ribs were easy to heal-"

" _What_?!" 

"Itachi, please.  I'm okay. He actually just solved one of our problems."  

"Problems?"  He wasn't expecting her to change the subject, and it stopped him in his tracks. “What are you talking about?”

"There's something that I didn't tell you.  It's about Sasuke." 

He glanced at her, unsure of what she was referring to.   _When did she start keeping secrets from me?_

She saw the look in his eyes and hurriedly continued.  "When I talked to Tsunade-sama-" 

She cut off as he put up his hand to stop her.  Her eyes narrowed as the sharingan flooded over his dark eyes and she realized what he was doing.   _I don't want to be overheard.  That should do it. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier._

Closing his eyes briefly, he checked the genjutsu that he'd placed over the room.  Satisfied that it was safe to continue, he nodded at Sakura. Her eyes widened and her chakra spiked as she tested the illusion.  

A bright blush quickly spread over her cheeks and she laughed softly when she realized what anyone else outside the room was hearing.  "Well, that will definitely keep anyone away from us. Don't you think that's a little overkill though?" 

He smirked, crouching down in front of her.  "No, it's quite accurate actually." 

"I'm not that loud!" 

"Yes, you are.  Continue." 

She shook her head at him, her blush deepening.  "Fine. A reanimation jutsu requires enough vital chakra that the body can start to work again.  You need a life for a life, basically.  Tsunade-sama and I talked about it in the Shikkotsu forest.  I didn't tell you about it because I was afraid that you would volunteer to die for Sasuke." 

He was slightly taken aback, but not offended.  She was right; it was something that he might have done.  "You're right about that.  So, you're looking for alternatives." 

"Yes.  Now that we know that Juugo is the source of the chakra that almost freed the Kyuubi, we can throw a tangle into Orochimaru's operations." 

"Ah, Kabuto.  You want to use him to provide the chakra that reanimates Sasuke." 

"Yes."  Her eyes were flinty, and he felt a sudden rush of affection for her.  _I'm glad that I'm on her good side._

"Would you have picked him if he hadn't attacked you?" He asked softly, sure of the answer.  She wasn't the kind of person who would sacrifice anyone if she could help it, hence the secrecy around the forbidden jutsu.  

She sighed, running her hand through her hair.  "Honestly, I would have considered him anyway.  He takes pleasure in experimenting on the test subjects here.  Pain intrigues him, it's like he feeds off of it.  I hate that we don’t have another choice, but we need Sasuke back." 

"Then the choice is made.  He makes the most sense." 

"Without Kabuto, Orochimaru has to start over with his research," she muttered, lacing her fingers together, “He’s the one who runs the tests and keeps the facility up and running.”

“He’s the lodestone then.  Take him away and Orochimaru will be so busy trying to replace him that his other plans will have to be placed on hold.”  Itachi commented, crossing his arms. 

"Yes.  Especially if a large and fiery explosion wipes out the entire archive of lab test results," Sakura said pointedly, raising an eyebrow suggestively. 

"You want me to provoke Deidara."  He couldn't help the doubt that colored his tone; he wasn't overly fond of the idea.  

"Any kind of distraction would work, I can do it if you don't want to-" She added hurriedly; she was a master at translating his facial expressions after spending months with him at the hideout. 

He sighed, shaking his head.  _I can use the mangekyou to protect me from the explosion.  It should be me._

"I can do it.  When do you want to make our move?" 

"We'll just have to time it right.  Let me sow some doubt, and then we can take the hideout down with us.  Maybe two weeks, that should be enough." 

"Ah.  You want to make it look like Kabuto left willingly." 

"Yeah.  Unless you have another idea?" 

"Not one that keeps him alive for more than an hour."  He said darkly, his eyes clouded with anger.  "And what about your plans to take the Akatsuki down from the inside, can we accelerate that?" 

She sighed, clearly torn.  "We don't have enough time.  Our priority has to be Orochimaru, but when he's gone I doubt there will be an Akatsuki at all.  If I had a year I could use my chakra to start degrading their chakra streams from within their bodies, but that will take time that we don't have." 

"That's true."  He sat down next to her, tapping her nose gently with his finger.  "Once we get back to Konoha we can delegate the members to ANBU.  Their resources will get the job done fairly quickly." 

"Yeah..."

"As I told you before, the sharingan can't read minds."  He said wryly, intrigued by the mask of deep concentration that had settled over her features. 

"Itachi, promise me that you won't threaten Kabuto."  She looked at him very directly, and he sighed.  

"I can’t promise that," His brow furrowed and his eyes narrowed, “Kabuto had the guts to make an attempt on your life, which concerns me.  He had to know that you’d tell me, and if he isn’t wary of me then we’ve got a problem.”

“I know that you don’t mean that to be offensive, Itachi, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t speak as though I’m some sort of damsel in distress.”  The warning edge to her voice rang clearly through the room, and he sighed and laced his fingers with hers. 

She let him, although her shoulders were stiff with tension and her eyes hadn’t lost their hard edge.

_That came out wrong._

“I’m sorry, you’re right.  I…feel guilty that I wasn’t there to help you, that’s all.”

“Itachi, I was just caught off guard. If he ever tries anything like that again I will do everything I can to kill him.  Now will you please promise me?”  She scooted over, putting herself directly in front of him so that he couldn’t avoid looking at her. 

“Alright, I promise.” 

"Good.  And promise that you won't get upset at what I'm about to say." She murmured, finally looking away.  

He didn't like where this was headed.  "Sakura-" 

"Sasuke needs a sharingan," she blurted out, scrambling to her feet and planting her hands on her hips, "And I need your permission before I do anything that can guarantee that." 

Itachi's eyes widened and he raised his gaze to meet hers.  "Give him mine." 

"No, wait-"

"Sakura.  The eyes are his; I basically stole them in the first place-" 

"Itachi, stop!  Listen to me for a second!" 

He didn't say anything more, just raised his eyebrow in a silent question.   

She took a deep breath, crossing her arms across her chest.   "If you give Sasuke his eyes back, you'll be blind.  And they might not work properly if they are removed and then re-implanted in the original body.  We'd go from having two sharingans to none." 

"You think that he'll go blind if he gets the same sharingan back and continues to use it." 

"I have no idea, that's the problem.  We can't take that chance.  So, with your permission, I want to give him yours." 

"I'd give mine up without hesitation, but they're useless, you saw that right away when we first met." 

"They're not useless, Itachi." 

 "Ah, I see. You want to give Sasuke a chance to awaken the eternal mangekyou." 

"It might not work, but if you think that it's worth a shot I'll do the transplant myself."  She ran a hand through her bright hair, worriedly looking at him over her shoulder as she began to pace.  

"Yes."  He said immediately, a flash of hope running through him.  But it was immediately dashed as rational thought replaced it.  "But my eyes are gone." 

"No.  They aren't,"  She said quietly, biting her lip.  "Tsunade-sama didn't get rid of them, in case Sasuke's didn't work." 

He was speechless.  A myriad of emotions coursed through him, most of which bordered on the incredulous.  He quickly clued into her unspoken statement.  He felt his jaw clench.  _Over my dead body._

 "You are not going to Konoha alone." 

"I have to.  I can use a coded message to ask Kakashi-sensei to meet me; it's the only way-" 

“No.  There’s no way, it’s too dangerous.”

“Uchiha, you need to trust me!”  Her voice rose, and her tone was turning shrill with frustration.  “There are three reasons why!  Hear me out!”

_She only calls me Uchiha when she’s mad.  Hm._

He felt the corner of his mouth tick up; she was usually thoroughly entertaining when she worked herself up. 

She held up one finger, clearly a few seconds away from shaking it at him in exasperation. 

“First, I already have a code with Naruto and Kakashi-sensei; I don’t even need to enter the village to communicate with them.”

“How will you do that?”

Sakura turned and walked over to the large oak reading table.  She reached into her discarded pack and pulled out two small silver bells.  They jingled quietly as she returned to Itachi’s side, holding them up so that they sparkled in the light of the reading lamps. 

“When I was a genin, Kakashi-sensei first tested our squad by challenging us to work together and steal these bells.  He’d hang them on his belt and give us a time limit.”  She sighed, her eyes suddenly far away as she recalled the memories. 

“When Sasuke left the team and Naruto left the village with Jiraya-sama, Kakashi-sensei gave me the bells as a gift.  Over the last few years we would run the exercise for fun when we had the time.  If I hang them on the bridge to the west of the outer training grounds they’ll know to meet me there.”

Itachi reached out, drawing the bells into his palm.  They tinkled quietly, and he ran his thumb over the small scratches that covered the dull metal.  “You’re sure that you’re the only ones who know the message?”

She nodded enthusiastically, pointing to the string that held them together.  “Yeah.  Kakashi-sensei will know it’s me if I tie a strand of my hair to them.  His dogs can track me to a safe place where we can meet without being overheard.”

Itachi wouldn’t admit it, but it was a good plan.  However, he was concerned that the bells would be obvious to an ANBU operative.  “And what if the bells are spotted by someone else?”

She smirked, rolling her eyes at his question.  “The bells are going to be tied underneath the bridge.  Kakashi-sensei can hear far better than anyone else I know.  He’ll know that they’re there within hours.”

He sighed, running his thumb over her knuckles.  “Okay, fine.  What are the other two reasons?”

“Well, there’s a mushroom that grows just outside of Konoha in the forest that can stop Orochimaru’s necrosis from progressing so quickly.”

“You want to slow it so that he doesn’t need to rush and get himself a new host?”

“Exactly!  The longer he can stay in his current body, the more time we have to figure out a way to stop him.”

“Fine, that’s sound.  The third reason?"

“If I can talk to Kakashi-sensei and Naruto, they will be able to talk to Tsunade-sama and tell her everything that she needs to know.   They already are working to stop your father from doing anything within the village, but they need to know that Raiton is probably how Orochimaru plans to get in.”

“You mentioned getting his daughter to safety.”

“Yeah.  We have to time it right, but I can use Lady Katsuyu to transport her out.  There’s only one thing that I’m unsure about.”

“Hm?”

“If Orochimaru was planning to take over Konoha using force the whole time, what’s the point of using your father to create so much discord?  Fugaku is too irrational, too easily angered too actually unseat Tsunade-sama, right?  I don’t really understand his reasoning, do you?”

Itachi gave a small laugh, but there was no mirth in the sound.  “I have no idea.  But, there’s no way that we can fight a war on two fronts.  Let our allies take care of the issues in Konoha.”

She sighed, letting her head fall back onto the bookshelf behind her.  “I know.   I just feel so discombobulated.  We missed so much that was right under our noses for months, I’m worried that I’m missing something else.”

“We’ll figure it out.” 

She turned her head to look him in the eye, and then she hesitated.  “I think it’s a really dumb idea to go today, given that Kabuto is suspicious of me.  But, I don’t want to give Orochimaru any more time to scheme.”

Itachi appraised her for a moment, taking in the dark circles under her eyes and the muted look in her eyes.  She was exhausted, her chakra was running lower than usual, and the stress of their mission was wearing on her. 

“If you want to leave today, I’ll cover for you. But, I’m not letting you go until I give you some of my chakra.”  He said quietly, absentmindedly tucking her hair behind her ear.  Her eyes widened, and she shook her head. 

“Itachi-“

“I’m sending Sasuke with you.  You need my chakra to avoid the side-effects of the sharingan.”

Her expression softened, and she smiled. “But who’s going to keep you company?”

He smirked, climbing smoothly to his feet.  He extended a hand to help her up, using more force than necessary, and letting out a quiet chuckle as she tumbled up and into his arms.  “I’ll be fine.  I’m more concerned about you.”

The blush that coloured her cheeks was immensely satisfying.  She hopped up onto the reading table, watching him with knowing eyes.  “I’m okay.  Seeing Naruto and Kakashi-sensei will be good.  I’m looking forward to their reunion with Sasuke.”

Itachi stepped forward and placed his hands on the table, effectively boxing her in.  “Just promise me that you’ll be careful.”

Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and he buried his face in her hair. 

“I will,” she breathed, relaxing into his arms, “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

He drew back to kiss her soundly, still faintly aware of the genjutsu he’d placed on the room.

_Poor Sasuke.  He’s not going to be happy with me when we leave.  If we don’t stop now, I won’t need the genjutsu to muffle our…conversation._

 He broke the kiss with some regret, aware that she was working against the clock.  She raised an eyebrow at him, apparently confused.  “Uh, Itachi?”

“As much as I’d like to continue, you should get going.”  He said quietly, tapping her affectionately on the forehead. "I'll give you enough chakra to store Sasuke for a few days."

“Oh, right.” 

“Ready?”

“Yes.”  She whispered, her face still tilted up towards his.  Even propped up on the desk, he was still taller than her.  Without any hesitation, he pressed his forehead to hers and allowed his chakra to flow outwards. 

* * *

 

Sasuke hopped impatiently on the spot outside the door.  He still had enough of his chakra to pierce through the genjutsu that Itachi had placed over the library and the hallway outside, but he was still irritated.  Sakura had taken off so quickly that he’d been concerned that Orochimaru was hot on her heels. 

_I’m always the last to know anything_ , he thought angrily, his feathers puffing out around him.  He was tired of being stuck in a crow, tired of being the third wheel, and very tired of not being able to do much to help. 

The genjutsu didn’t help his already sour mood, it was just obnoxious.  Sasuke was very uncomfortable to know that the sounds that he was hearing weren’t realistic.  _That’s just damn annoying._ _It’s bad enough that they’re always sneaking off to-._

He snapped to attention when the door opened, and they finally exited the room.  He was about to ask them what the hell they were doing when he caught the excited expression on Sakura’s face. 

_“What?”_

“Sasuke, we’re going back to Konoha.”  Sakura said quietly, crouching down so that he could hop up to her shoulder.  “We need to talk to Kakashi-sensei and Naruto.”

Although he didn’t react outwardly, Sasuke felt a spike of excitement.  He hadn’t seen them in so long; it was finally going to be the long-awaited reunion of team seven that he’d been hoping towards for years. 

_“When are we leaving?”_

“In a few hours,” Itachi said, striding down the hallway ahead of them, “I gave Sakura some of my chakra so that you can travel less conspicuously.” 

“I’ll tell you everything when we’re safely on our way.”  Sakura said, opening her palm to show him a set of bells that he knew all too well.  “Remember these?”

“ _I haven’t seen those in a long time_.”  He said, trying hard to contain his excitement. 

_I’m going home._

* * *

 

Tsunade took a deep, calming breath.  She glanced at Kakashi, who was watching the unconscious form of Fugaku with an unreadable look in his visible eye.

“Kakashi, you can leave if you don’t want to be here.”  She said smoothly, sliding her hands into medical gloves and flicking her long pigtails over her shoulder.  “I’m perfectly capable of doing this without your help, although it is appreciated.”

“Hokage-sama, I want to be here.”  His tone was cheerful, but Tsunade knew him well enough to sense the undercurrent of anger beneath his words.  “I promised Sakura that I would do anything I could to help you.”

Tsunade smirked, fully aware of the hidden meaning of his words.  “Good.  When I’m done I need you to get a message to Gaara.  His troops are being pulled back to Suna, but I could use some of them here if he can spare them.”

“That won’t be a problem.”  Kakashi walked over to the examination table and turned on the lamp.  The bright, fluorescent light suddenly leeched all of the colour from Fugaku’s skin; from where Tsunade was standing he looked like a corpse. 

Gathering her chakra, Tsunade settled herself into a comfortable position at Fugaku’s head.  She allowed the energy to bloom out of her hands, creating a blue nimbus around him.  Taking a deep breath, she pushed into his chakra streams.  Immediately, she felt her brow furrowing as she took stock of the damage. 

_I’ve been healing his eyes for years, how on earth is there so much damage that I couldn’t see?_

Probing gently, she almost gasped aloud as she started to try to isolate the poison from his cells.  _There’s something about that chakra that’s fighting me_.

She decided to start small, concentrating and then siphoning a small measure of the poison out of his heart muscles.  She worked her way around his vital organs, slowly gaining ground as she traveled up his spine.  Tsunade was so focused on her work that she missed Kakashi’s raised eyebrow as she pulled a measure of poison from his body.  The black liquid was viscous, oily, and resisted her attempts to pull it cleanly from Fugaku’s skin. 

She discarded it in a medical waste container beside her, again, and again, and again. 

Hours passed, and Kakashi watched as the light of the sun travelled around the room through the tightly drawn curtains. 

Finally, after six hours, Tsunade drew her hands back and shakily wiped the back of her hand across her forehead.  She gratefully accepted the glass of water that Kakashi handed her and drained it in one long gulp.  She stretched, trying to work the tension out of her muscles.

“So, I hope that bucket is a good sign.”  Kakashi murmured, gesturing at the poison sitting on the bedside table. 

Tsunade nodded, glancing down at Fugaku with worry written clearly all over her features.  She knew that she had only managed to finish the least important work.  Next, she had to try and remove the poison from his brain and chakra streams. 

“It’s going to get messy.  If I collapse, for any reason, get Shizune.  She’ll know what to do,” she said determinedly, re-assuming her position at the head of the table, “We have to be at the council meeting tonight.  Too much is at stake, we can’t waste any more time.”

“Understood.”

Tsunade concentrated once more, diving back into Fugaku’s chakra streams.  The closer she got to his chakra junctions, the more difficulty she had.  The foreign chakra in his body was mixed with a substance that she had never seen before. 

 But it was oddly familiar.     

_It almost reminds me of the remnants of Naruto’s wound.  His chakra function is still slightly dampened around the area of the seal, I wonder if there’s something in the tea that acts like broken glass, making minuscule cuts to his chakra streams as he uses large amounts to power the sharingan._

_Wait-no.  There’s no way.  It’s so dangerous._

She’d finally entered his brain. 

Crystals.  The chakra was everywhere, shimmering with energy.  Enclosing nerves and ensnaring entire swaths of the cerebellum.  Fugaku's brain couldn't withstand the onslaught, it was no wonder that he was already half insane.    _A forbidden jutsu, it has to be._

Tsunade felt her heartbeat increase as she surveyed the damage before her.  She knew immediately what she was looking at, and that knowledge sent a flood of cold dread through her.  

_Orochimaru.  You sick bastard._

Fugaku's chakra streams were thoroughly saturated with alien chakra.  It had crystallized into sharp, leeching protrusions that were corrupting the chakra flow and soaking into every inch of Fugaku's body.  She would have recognized the look of this parasitic jutsu anywhere.  

"Kakashi, we have a big problem."  She said quietly, not opening her eyes.  She couldn't afford to lose track of her progress.  "The chakra that he's been absorbing is Orochimaru's." 

"That's not good," Kakashi agreed, raising one eyebrow with curiosity, "What's the endgame?" 

"Orochimaru is slowly taking over Fugaku's body, one cell at a time.  He's planning to transfer his consciousness into Fugaku."  She replied darkly, still trying to navigate around Fugaku's damaged cerebrum.  "Fugaku's running out of time.  He's been absorbing Orochimaru's chakra for eighteen years." 

"In what way?" 

"The tea.  Orochimaru’s managed to crystallize his own chakra.” 

“That sounds dangerous.”

“Oh you have no idea.  But it’s genius.”

“How so?” 

Not for the first time, Tsunade wished that she could see Kakashi’s real facial expression underneath his mask. 

“Orochimaru's jutsu works extremely slowly, taking over the host over the course of years, sometimes decades.  By the time he's ready to transfer his consciousness to the new host, the body is breaking down from the inside.  He turns the host's chakra against itself, using his own chakra to power the system.  That's why he usually picks children; he can raise them into the kind of host that he needs, prolonging his ability to use it."   She shuddered, thoroughly disgusted by her former teammate.  

"If the body is turning against its own cells, that's what causes the necrosis?" 

"Yes.  The jutsu is critically flawed.  But the fact that he's targeted Fugaku is bad.  He's found a way to get himself a mangekyou sharingan without a fight." 

"I have a hard time believing that Fugaku would willingly turn himself over." 

"Like the curse marks, and my understanding is rudimentary, the affected shinobi is drawn back to Orochimaru's chakra.  It's like a beacon that they can't ignore.  Within a few weeks, I suspect that Fugaku was meant to turn up missing." 

"Moths to a flame, huh?  So, can you do anything to stop it?" 

She sighed, her face still lit up by the pulsing blue light of her chakra.  "Yes, but not much.  I can use my chakra to degrade the concentration of Orochimaru's essence in his blood, but the damage to his body is too far along." 

"How much time does he have?" 

"Maybe a month.  His left brain function is down at twenty four percent, so it won't be long before he can't resist the pull of the jutsu." 

"So we have less than a month to kill Orochimaru."  Kakashi said solemnly, all traces of apathy gone from his expression. 

"Yes.  If Orochimaru gets his hands on a mangekyou we're going to be in bad shape." 

"And what's the plan with Naruto?  Why would he attack him?"

"I don't know, Kakashi.  That worries me."   She opened her eyes briefly, just long enough to give him a meaningful look.  "I'll do what I can and we'll tell Fugaku what's happening when he wakes up." 

"Do you think that he'll continue to cooperate?" 

She sighed again, and the sound was filled with regret.  "He doesn't have a choice." 

* * *

 

Sakura was almost flying though the trees.  The feeling of the wind whipping though her hair filled her with excitement.  She was going home, and Sasuke was coming with her.  She was nearly giddy with anticipation; she couldn't wait for their reunion with Naruto.  

Sasuke was also thrilled, that much she could tell.  His chakra nearly buzzed with energy behind her seal, and she bit back the urge to chuckle.  Stopping on a high branch, she gave him a little nudge with her chakra, and he bloomed out of her forehead.  She had a clone waiting for him by the time he had fully emerged, signing quickly as he appeared out of his hiding spot.  

"There you go!"  She chirped, gesturing at the waiting vessel.  Sasuke didn't hesitate to open his temporary eyes and stretch out his shoulders.  She waited impatiently, nearly bouncing on the spot as he became re accustomed to being in a human body.  

"What?" 

"Nothing, I'm just looking forward to seeing Naruto and Kakashi-sensei."  She said quickly, her grin still plastered firmly on her face. "Aren't you?" 

"Hm."  

In this case, they both knew that his non-committal answer was a bluff.  He turned on his heel and darted into the trees, she followed close behind.  

"Whatever you say, Sasuke," she muttered, turning her attention back to the trees whizzing past.  Her speed was good; she could be back to the outskirts of Konoha within five hours.  

"So what were you two talking about in the library?"  Sasuke asked, obviously unable to dampen his curiosity any longer.  

She was caught off guard by his sudden question. "Oh, right.  Sorry about that, I was freaking out." 

"For a change." 

"Do you want me to tell you or not?"

He didn't reply, she assumed that he was placated for now.  She took a few seconds to gather her thoughts.  "Okay, so it turns out that your father isn't the one behind everything that's happening in Konoha." 

"It's Orochimaru." 

"Yeah.  Itachi told me that it all started eighteen years ago, when your uncle died on a mission." 

"I remember.  My father changed after that, apparently."

"Itachi told me that he used to be strict, but kind. Do you agree with that?" 

"Yeah.  But it was so long ago that I can't remember anything other than what he's like now."  Sasuke's words were tinged with bitterness, Sakura didn't blame him one bit.  

"So, it all started there.  Orochimaru must have a spy in your father's house, that's the only thing that I don't have figured out," she mused, "Do you know who it could be?"

"The steward for the estate."  Sasuke said immediately.  "He showed up one day and has been there ever since.  It was probably around the same time.  He's always poking his nose into our personal business." 

"I'll tell Kakashi-sensei that, then.  So, it turns out that the blade that almost killed Naruto is made with Juugo's chakra." 

"The curse-mark guy?" 

"That's the one.  It almost forced the Nine-tails out of his body." 

Sasuke whistled quietly, clearly impressed.  "So Orochimaru wants the Nine-tails.  No surprise there." 

"Sasuke, there's more.  Your father has Shisui's sharingan, and if Orochimaru gets your father's body-" 

"He can control the Nine-Tails, I get it.   But why bother going to all that trouble to attack Naruto?" 

Sakura pursed her lips, trying to remember the strange events of the mission.  "He needed to get Naruto out of the village and away from the protection of the Hokage?  If the blade didn't work, then he would have tried something else later, I guess.  The old bastard was still pretending to be dead, after all." 

"And the Third's death.  What was the point of that?" 

Sakura almost made a sarcastic remark, but then she remembered that he'd been dead for six months.  _Oh, he wasn't alive to hear all of this the first time around.  I forgot._

The thought filled her with guilt. 

"Orochimaru said that he'd agreed on a carte blanche for the debt with your father.  He could have asked for anything, but he chose to wait.  It makes sense, if one of his plans fell through then your father would still be indebted to him."

"He is still in that position.  Given everything that we know now, I don't know that it was wise of me to reveal myself to my father."  Sasuke said carefully, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

“Why?”  She said quietly, feeling as though she’d been stung by his words. 

"He might find some advantage to use against us."

She felt a flash of hurt, suddenly finding it very difficult to look at him.   _I know he doesn't mean it like that, but wow.  Does he regret saving my life?_

An uncomfortable silence fell between them.  Sakura kept up the punishing pace, trying to ignore the pinprick of tears behind her eyes. 

Hours later, they stopped a mile from Konoha’s territory. 

“This is probably a good place to meet them, right?”  Sakura asked, surveying the forest around them.  “There’s a cave over there that’s pretty well hidden.  Naruto knows about it so they shouldn’t have any trouble tracking me there.”

“Hm.”   Sasuke’s response made her roll her eyes.  He obviously wasn’t in the mood to talk. 

Closing her eyes, Sakura concentrated her chakra and tapped one of the bells.  It shone faintly with a green light for a moment, and then faded back to dull metal.  She then dragged her hands though her hair until she was able to grab a loose strand.  She then tied it to the bells, ensuring that her scent was all over them.

“Okay, I’m going to place the bells.  Stay here.”  She said, already running towards the bridge where Kakashi had left Itachi’s headband.  _I don’t want anyone to spot Sasuke.  I still don’t know what would happen if the clone was destroyed.  That’s not a chance I’m willing to take._

She was too far away to hear Sasuke’s quiet grumble of protest. 

Sakura could feel her shoulders tensing up as she got closer to Konoha.  She kept her eyes peeled for any shinobi, her chakra shooting outwards as she moved.  She’d purposefully left her Akatsuki cloak at the hideout; it was comforting to abandon the heavy garment. 

She dropped the bells off without incident, ringing them once to signal their location, and then darting away.  _It shouldn’t take more than a few hours before they find them_ , she thought smugly. 

Sasuke was waiting impatiently in the cave, his pacing footsteps echoed into the forest.  “Took you long enough.  What now?”

“Now we wait.”  Sakura replied. 


	30. Shattered Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsunade loses control. Itachi takes matters into his own hands, and Sakura and Sasuke reunite with Naruto and Kakashi.

**Hi everyone!  So sorry about the delay!  This chapter was a difficult one.  This story is in the home stretch, so it's about to get fast and very furious around here!  Thank you for your continued support, it really means a lot.  :)**

* * *

 

Tsunade sat quietly in her chair, watching patiently as Fugaku’s chest rose and fell with deep breaths.  She mentally rehearsed what she was about to say again; her palms were sweaty and she felt a well of anxiety pooling in the pit of her stomach _.   I don’t know how he’ll react to the news, but it won’t be good._

Her gaze snapped forwards as she heard his breathing pattern change.  He was awake at last.  

She didn’t say anything as he blinked slowly, taking a moment to become accustomed to his surroundings.  She felt a small flicker of worry winding its way into her expression as he finally turned his head to look at her.

His dark eyes were serious, and she saw a flash of desperation in them.  “It’s not good, is it.” 

His statement wasn’t a question. 

“Do you want the good news or the bad news first?”  She asked, rummaging through her notes and producing a pen from her pocket.  She turned her back to him as she reached over to the desk, hoping that he wouldn’t see how difficult it was for her to keep her composure. 

“Don’t mince words with me, Tsunade.   Just tell me.”  Fugaku sounded so tired that she almost felt sorry for him. 

Now that he knew that his body was under attack from the toxin, his entire demeanor had changed.  No longer a proud, confident clan leader, he was a shell of a man.

She didn’t blame him for that, however that didn’t make his actions an easier pill to swallow.  She firmly reminded herself who she was talking to; it wasn’t the time to start treating him like a friend.

“No, Fugaku.  It’s not good.  I’m afraid that the damage is irreversible.”  She said slowly, rising to her feet.  Tsunade sighed, the expression that flitted across her face hinted at her true age; she was exhausted. 

“I was able to destroy a measure of the poison, but your brain is deteriorating at an alarming rate.” Her steady eyes regarded him with thinly guarded sympathy, a small frown sliding across her delicate features. 

“What’s happening to my body?”  He asked dully, turning his face to look at the ceiling. 

“Orochimaru has been preparing your body for a takeover.”  She said bluntly, turning to face him.  “It’s the tea.  He’s managed to infuse it with his chakra.  Why did you start drinking it in the first place?” 

It was something that she’d been wondering for a while now. 

Fugaku’s expression was far away, he was deep in his memories.  “I was badly injured after the botched Senju scroll mission.  My brother was worse off; he was mortally wounded by one of the shinobi who protected the scroll.  He pushed me out of the way of the death blow and took my place.  I was distracted by petty rivalries amongst the members of the squad.”

“I see.  So the tea was…therapeutic?”

“In a sense, it was.  It was the delivery method for the pain medication that I required to heal.  Without it, I could have been in agony.  My leg has never healed properly.” 

“Ah, you took over domestic operations because of that.  So you continued to drink the tea, long after your wounds had healed. “

Fugaku closed his eyes.  “Yes.  I was so blind to think that I drank it by choice.  Clearly, I was wrong.”

“Yes, you’re right about that.  Orochimaru’s jutsu works in such a way as to draw you back to him, your body is becoming dependent on his chakra to function.  It’s a miracle that he hasn’t persuaded you to leave the village already.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

Tsunade sighed.  “Orochimaru has chosen you to be his new host.  He desires a sharingan, as you know.  This is how he can get one without fighting an Uchiha directly.”

“So the poison…was to what, make me vulnerable enough to kill?”

“No, not kill.  Overpower.  He needs you alive.”

“So the goal was to make me weak and drive me insane.”  His tone darkened; Tsunade watched as he struggled to keep his composure. 

_Everything he thought he knew has been shattered apart._

“Yes,”  She said simply, her point made.  “I was able to ease some of the damage to your brain, but I’m afraid that you don’t have much time left.  That’s the extent of the good news.”

“I’m going to die.”

“Yes.  There is something else you should know about, given the circumstances.  I think we’ve reached the point where I can tell you the truth.”

“I doubt you could surprise me,” he said quietly, his words tinged with bitterness.

“Despite your best efforts, Sakura, Sasuke, and Itachi are working with me to kill Orochimaru once and for all.”

“I don’t follow.”  He turned his head and rose up on one elbow, clearly confused. 

“Sakura and Itachi were approached by Orochimaru after you drove them from Suna.  It’s on my orders that they left the village.  And, Sasuke really is alive, that wasn’t a lie.”

“You knew.  For months, you knew that I was trying to take the village from you.  You’ve been planning this.”

“I knew about it for years.  You made it possible for me to anticipate your movements.”

“You’ve outwitted me at every turn, Tsunade,” he laughed quietly, but there was no mirth in the sound. 

“Yes, we have.  You’re not very subtle,” she said quietly, hurriedly making notes.  She decided to change the subject; she didn’t have time to waste waxing poetic about the past.

 “So, as I said before, you have maybe a month.  I’ll get your affairs in order, you should use this time to try and make things right.”

“No need, I have nothing planned for the future.”

“What?”  She was incredulous, unsure as to why he had just decided to give up. 

“I’m not afraid of death.  I can see things with such clarity now,” He murmured.  “It’s like I’ve been in a fog for years.  The clearest things to me were revenge and pain.”

“Your actions certainly reflected that.  So you’re afraid of being blind, but death is completely fine,”  Tsunade remarked coldly, crossing her arms.  She felt a small flash of anger at his indifference, she would have been scrambling to use the time that she had left if she was in his position.   _Poor Shisui, he deserved so much better._

“I shouldn’t be surprised.  With all of your symptoms, I’m surprised that you were able to function at all.” She continued, her teeth gritted with frustration. 

“The visions make it difficult to think.”  He admitted, resting his hands on his blanketed stomach.  “My logic is severely affected, it seems.”

“The hallucinations, what are they?”

“My son, my wife, and my nephew-“ His voice cut off with a croak, and he cleared his throat hastily.  She ignored his lapse of composure and waited for him to continue. 

“-they speak to me, make it difficult to concentrate.”

“Do they haunt you?”  Tsunade felt a mixture of emotions, although some of them bordered on smug.  _So, his guilt has manifested into a physical form._

“You already know the answer to that question.”  He said darkly, finally showing a hint of his former snark.   She ignored him. 

“It’s impossible to know how many of your actions were influenced by the poison.  Why _did_ you go to Suna?”

“My intention was to speak with Orochimaru and get rid of Itachi.  I knew that I had to get to Orochimaru somehow,” he said, exhaustion colouring his every word. 

“That would be the poison.  But he didn’t try to take you over then, do you know why?”

“All that I remember was my intention to give Itachi to Orochimaru in exchange for Konoha’s immunity from the Akatsuki.  Orochimaru declined my offer and made it clear that I could expect no help from him.  I refused his demand for Sasuke’s body, and he grew angry with me.”

“I don’t understand why you thought he might be sympathetic.  You denied him a sharingan.”

She chose not to mention the fact that Sasuke hadn’t been buried with his sharingan.  Fugaku already knew that.

“I haven’t the faintest idea either.  I can’t remember what possessed me to do something so reckless.  I suspect that it was my undoing, wasn’t it.”

“You’re right about that, it was a mixture of things.”  Tsunade muttered, massaging her temples against her oncoming headache.  “You were manipulated by Orochimaru, I expect.”

“Undoubtedly, he and my traitorous steward both.”

“Kasumi’s in custody.  Now, there’s a council meeting in a few hours, are you going to be able to stick to the plan?”

“I don’t have a choice. You have ensured that.”

She glared at him, her expression steelier than she’d ever openly expressed, which was saying something.  “I hate blackmail, but given the situation I’m past the point of caring about the morality of it. It would be a damn shame if you didn’t try to make something out of the rest of your miserable life.”

He didn’t respond, simply stared up at the ceiling tiles. 

“Don’t do it for me or yourself, Fugaku.  Do it for your sons. ”

He just closed his eyes. 

She turned on her heel with a barely audible groan of frustration and stomped out of the room.  She barely spared a glance for Kakashi, who stood nonchalantly against the wall outside.  “You have the steward in custody, right?”

Kakashi nodded, surveying her with one lazily lidded eye.  “Neji’s got him.  Will Fugaku cooperate at the meeting tonight?”

“I suspect that he will.  He doesn’t have anything left in him to fight, Kakashi.”

“Alright, well if you don’t need me here I need to check something outside of town.”

“Oh?”

“I could have sworn that I heard a bell ring,” he said pointedly, raising his eyebrow, “Over by the bridge.”

Tsunade’s eyes widened.  _Sakura is here?_

“Go, Kakashi!  Report back to me immediately when you return.”

“Understood.”  He was already moving, his form blurring as he darted through an examination room and out the window.

Tsunade watched him go, unable to shake the feeling that something terrible was about to happen.  She had learned long ago to trust her intuition; something was wrong. 

* * *

 

Itachi strode purposefully down a long flight of stairs, silently making his way down into the bowels of the mountain.  The air grew colder as he descended, and the musty scent of damp earth was strong.  He steeled himself against the pitiful pleas of Orochimaru’s test subjects and continued to his destination.

He ignored the pang of guilt that shot through him; he didn’t have time for it.  Itachi knew that Sakura wouldn’t approve of what he was about to do, but he was determined to stave off any threat that might affect their plans for Orochimaru.  He could weather her anger if it meant that his plan saved their lives down the road. 

He fully expected a fight.  He checked his chakra levels, and once he was satisfied that he hadn’t given too much to Sakura, he continued his downwards trek. 

Finally, he sensed the chakra signature that he was looking for.  Kabuto was right where Itachi had expected him to be.  He concentrated for a second, effortlessly masking his own chakra emissions.  He didn’t even break his stride. 

He arrived at his journey's end a moment later.  The scarlet of the sharingan flooded over his dark eyes, and he took a moment to gather his thoughts.  

He pushed the large stone door open and entered the cavern quietly.  He felt a quiet hum of adrenaline pulsing through his veins, and he was faintly surprised to see that the occupant of the room didn’t even deign to acknowledge him.    _Don’t misplace your anger, Kabuto’s the target._  

“Hello, Juugo.”  He said quietly, stepping into the bright shaft of light that illuminated the cavern.  “We haven’t met.  I’m-”

“You must be Itachi.”  The giant man’s voice was much softer than Itachi had expected.  Juugo was sitting cross-legged just outside of the circle of light.  Itachi stepped into the sunlight and surveyed the man with his sharingan.  He was surprised to find that Juugo’s chakra was calm; he didn’t seem to have any intention of attacking.     _Sakura was right.  He’s no threat in this form._

“How did you know?”

Juugo chuckled.  “You have a sharingan, so who else could you be.  Sakura has mentioned you several times now, is she coming down too?”

“No, I wanted to talk to you alone.  She’s on a solo mission.”

Juugo raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.  “Sure, by all means.”  He gestured at the ground in an invitation to sit, which Itachi took.

He didn’t waste any time.

“I apologize if this seems untoward, but I need to know where your loyalties lie.”

“It is.”  Juugo crossed his arms, the chains clanking loudly against one another.  “What are you asking?  You know why I’m here, I'm sure Sakura told you.”

“That’s not what I asked.  Do you know how many test subjects Orochimaru has here?”  Itachi replied quietly, letting his sharingan flood away. “And how many of them have died in the last few months?”

Juugo looked slightly uncomfortable, running a hand through his fluffy hair. _A nervous tick, hm._

“I know there are quite a few but they don’t die very often.  So I’d guess…probably less than twenty?”

“One hundred and thirty-two are listed as of this morning.  You don’t want to know the death toll,” Itachi said bluntly, looking Juugo right in the eye.  “Another two died three hours ago in a strength test.  Sakura has personally lost seventeen subjects in the last six weeks.”

Itachi didn’t miss the flicker of alarm that crossed Juugo’s face before he was able to smooth his expression.   “How?”

“The reasons vary.  More than half die from the complications of the curse marks.  The rest are usually killed by further experimentation that goes wrong.  Gladiator fights, failed operations, and organ failure are among the most common. ”

“Why are you asking me this?”

“You’re the source of the curse marks.  You should know what you’re helping Orochimaru do.”

“He’s helping me.”  Juugo’s tone was neutral, but Itachi could hear a slight difference in his intonation; he was feeling defensive.  “That has to count for something.”

“By chaining you to the floor in a dungeon?  Your definition is different from mine.”

“The chains are my choice.”

“So you let him chain you up and take your blood and mutagens in exchange for what, exactly?”

“I can’t hurt anyone here.   Kabuto-sama’s researching a way to help me calm down, stop the rages altogether.”

“And has he succeeded?”

“Not yet.”

“How many years have you been here?”

“It’s hard to say.  Maybe twelve.”

“No progress in twelve years, doesn’t that make you a little bit suspicious?”

Juugo’s eyes narrowed.  “Should it?”

“Yes.  Are you aware of the purpose of Kabuto and Orochimaru’s current research?”

“No.”

“Orochimaru is trying to acquire a powerful new host, and Kabuto, according to Sakura, is using your mutagens to create weapons.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“Why would I lie?”  Itachi raised one eyebrow, his point made.  He knew that he’d piqued Juugo’s interest, now it was just a matter of entreating him to help their cause. 

“Why are you telling me this?  I can’t do anything to change Orochimaru-sama’s mind.”

“Maybe not, but you aren’t helpless.  Remaining ignorant is going to get more people killed, Juugo.  Abstaining from helping them is nearly as bad as committing the deed yourself.”

“What’s your endgame?”  Juugo rose to his feet, the flashing irritation in his eyes obvious.  Itachi remained seated.  It wasn’t the time to get aggressive, he knew that Juugo was more likely to see sense if he was aware of the scale of Orochimaru’s betrayal. 

“If Orochimaru isn’t stopped, he may be responsible for taking the lives of hundreds, maybe even thousands more in the coming months.  I have no way of knowing how many people he’s already killed, but we both know that the number is extremely high.  The curse marks are just a small part of what he does.”

“Itachi, I would appreciate it if you’d just come out and say it.”  Juugo’s tone darkened slightly and Itachi felt a flicker of triumph. “What are you asking me?” 

_He’s right where I want him._

“I want to know if you’re willing to choose the right side.  Time is running out for Orochimaru, and so you have a choice.”

“Orochimaru-sama saved me.  He keeps me from killing others.”

“And yet, he uses your chakra to kill.  The curse marks and the experiments aren’t your fault, but you allow him to use you for his own gain. That fact makes you very dangerous.”  Itachi murmured, crossing his arms. 

“It’s your choice, but I’ll warn you that your chakra was used to make a blade that almost managed to free the Kyuubi from his host.  I’m sure you’ve heard the stories about what happened the last time it was freed.”

“The Nine-Tails?  How?” A flash of panic flickered through Juugo's eyes.  

“I don’t know exactly, Sakura can explain it when she gets back.  The breaking point isn’t far off, Juugo.  Apparently you haven’t been told about what’s happening on the outside.”

“I don’t ask.”

“That’s the reason why we have an issue.  While you’re sitting here with your shackles, you’re blissfully unaware of the damage that you’re helping to inflict.”

“You don’t understand what the curse makes me do, Itachi.  You wouldn’t ask me to leave if you understood that.”

“I understand the curse of a kekkei genkai,” Itachi said softly, gesturing at his eyes.  “I can see because I accidentally killed my brother.  We’re more alike than you think.”

“It’s not the same thing.  Why now?  Why didn’t you just try to kill me when you came here?”

“Sakura made a compelling case for your life.  You have her to thank for that.  I currently have more important things to worry about.”

“Such as?”  Juugo’s head snapped up, he was visibly becoming upset.  “You’re asking me an impossibly complicated question and you still think that there’s more for me to be concerned with?”  

Itachi was torn.  He hated to use other’s emotions against them; it was something that his father often did.  His intention wasn’t to hurt or villainize Juugo; Itachi was trying to give the gentle giant a reason to live. 

Sakura would never forgive him if he didn’t at least try to save Juugo.  So he continued on, ignoring the pang of guilt that assaulted him.  _Not now._  

“Kabuto made an attempt on Sakura’s life yesterday. So, yes.  Your predicament is currently the least of my concerns.”  Itachi spoke bluntly; his slightly lowered tone the only indication of his frustration.  “To be frank, her life is more important to me than yours is.”

“Why would Kabuto do that?”

“Because he is willing to do whatever it takes to help Orochimaru win.  Conversely, I’m willing to do whatever I need to do to make sure that they don’t succeed.”  Itachi looked steadily at the larger man as he slowly rose to his feet.  “I don’t relish the thought of killing you, but I will do it if I need to.”

“There’s no negotiating with you, is there.”

“No chance whatsoever.”

 “I understand.  Come back tomorrow, I’ll have an answer for you.”  Juugo said tiredly, running a giant hand over his face.

Itachi turned on his heel and made to leave.  His work was done for the day.  He hoped fervently that he had succeeded with his goal; he didn’t like the alternative.

“The threats really aren’t necessary, Itachi.”  Juugo called softly, his voice echoing in the cavern.  “There are people that I care about here too.”

Itachi paused on the steps, mulling over his response. 

Itachi’s steely expression suddenly softened and he turned to look over his shoulder before he left. “Threatening you wasn’t my intention.  You need to understand the stakes.   Keep in mind that we’re not leaving any of the captives here when we leave, no one held here will suffer anymore.”

Juugo didn’t reply, and Itachi sighed. 

“Just think about it.  I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Turning on his heel, he made his way up the giant steps, his footsteps echoing. 

His mind whirred as he climbed; he wondered how Sakura was doing.  Itachi wasn’t worried that she couldn’t handle herself, but her plan had too many variables.  _The last thing we need is Orochimaru catching wind that she’s going out on her own.  He’s going to start getting suspicious._

Picking up his pace, he exited the dim stairwell and stepped into the bright sunlight.  He gave his eyes a moment to adjust, still slightly unnerved by the clarity of his vision.  He was lost in thought, walking across the courtyard when he heard his name spoken from the shadows.

He turned, one eyebrow raised as Kisame seemed to materialize from the darkness, a toothy grin plastered on his face. 

“Yo, Uchiha.  You got a minute?”

“Yeah.”  He replied, his curiosity piqued by Kisame’s odd behaviour.  He followed Kisame back into the dark corridor, his sharingan once again flooding across his eyes.  He didn’t distrust the huge shinobi, but he wasn’t about to put himself in a vulnerable position. 

“What?”

“Look, uh, the other guys are getting restless.”  Kisame scratched the back of his head, his expression a little bit sheepish.  “Orochimaru’s got us running errands like servants and we’re getting pretty tired of it.  He promised us freedom of information and autonomy and shit, so it’s kind of a piss off that we’re stuck doing Orochimaru’s dirty business.”

Itachi chuckled darkly, leaning against the wall.  “You expected him to keep his word?  If you want to leave, then leave.  I won’t stop you.”

“Nah, that’s not why I’m tellin’ ya.  You should jump ship too, before Orochimaru does something stupid like start a war.”  Kisame said pointedly, raising one eyebrow for emphasis. 

“For someone who’s all about freedom of information, you’re beating around the subject an awful lot,” Itachi said drily, feeling a flicker of annoyance.   _Just spit it out._

“Old ANBU habits die hard.  There’s a rumour going around that Orochimaru’s staging village is producing a lot more sacrifices than before.  There’s a lot of money flowing through there.”

“Why?”

“He’s building an army.”

“Hm.  That’s not surprising.”  Itachi knew about the village that Kisame was referring to, but Sakura hadn’t been able to determine the purpose of it.  “What’s the village for?”

“Oh, Kabuto didn’t tell you, huh?  That’s where Orochimaru gets his test subjects, he pays the people in the villages around there to give up the kids that they don’t want, or send prisoners of war there.”

“That’s a problem.” 

_So that’s where he gets his endless supply of test subjects.  That explains the weird villagers that Sakura told me about.  They said that Orochimaru takes care of them._

“Yeah, so he’s planning something big.”

“You’d better leave then.  Take the rest of the Akatsuki with you,” Itachi said quietly, indicating towards Deidara’s workshop with a subtle hand motion.  “But leave Deidara out of it, I need him here for another few days.”

“Whatever you want, Uchiha.   Do me a favor would ya?”

Itachi didn’t say anything, just waited for Kisame to speak.  He let out a sigh, grimacing.  Absently, Itachi thought that there was nothing reassuring about seeing that many teeth. 

“Tell Sakura that I’m sorry about the kid.”

_Ah, Konohamaru._ Itachi nodded curtly, his sharingan flooding away from his eyes.  “I will.  She won’t forgive you, but she’ll appreciate the apology.”

Kisame shrugged, Samehada clanking on his shoulder.  “Figures.  I don’t usually care, but she was pretty messed up over it.”

Itachi fought the urge to roll his eyes.  “She told you not to kill him.  She’s still upset; I doubt she’ll ever come to terms with it.”

“Well, you know how it is.  Battle fervor makes me a little crazy,” Kisame ran a hand over the back of his head, his skin rasping like sandpaper.  “Well, I told ya what I wanted to say, so-“

“One question before you leave.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you opposed to me killing the other members?”  Itachi’s tone was cold; he hadn’t forgotten his promise to avenge those who the Akatsuki had murdered.   He was thinking of Hidan specifically. 

Kisame barked out a short laugh, running a giant hand over his face.  “Be my guest.  Sakura already got Sasori, so if it’s a competition she’s winning.”

The corner of Itachi’s mouth curled up into a dark smirk, and he straightened out of his casual position.  “It’s not.  Thanks for the warning.”

Kisame turned, still chuckling.  He began to walk away, throwing a lazy salute over his shoulder as he did.  “See ya, Uchiha.  Maybe we could have been teammates in another life.”

“Not very likely,” Itachi murmured, still smirking as Kisame disappeared from view.  “You’d drive me insane.”

_Well that’s one problem taken care of._

* * *

 

Sasuke was pacing again, which was starting to drive Sakura a little bit crazy.   She couldn’t take it anymore.

“Sasuke, can you cool it for a minute?”  She snapped, craning her neck to glare at him. 

“No.”  He snapped back, turning on his heel to start another rotation.  “It’s been hours.  Kakashi and Naruto probably aren’t coming.”

Sakura’s mood deepened even further as a bright flash of lightening illuminated the cave.  There was a crash of thunder, and then the steady tattoo of pouring rain began. 

“That’s just great.”  She muttered, surveying the wall of water outside of the cave.  _I hope the water doesn’t muddle my scent too much._

Sakura tensed as she sensed a chakra signature flicker into range.  It only took her a second to recognize it, and her mouth cracked into a silly grin.  “Sasuke, it’s them!”

“Finally.”  He grumbled, striding past her and out into the rain.  Sakura moved to join him, albeit with a little bit more caution. 

She saw Kakashi first, his silver hair reflected in the light of the rain.  A single beam of bright sunlight pierced through the clouds as she and Sasuke stopped to wait.

“Naruto!”   Sakura called, brushing past Sasuke to meet them.  She glanced over her shoulder with a raised eyebrow, silently translating Sasuke’s brief nod.  _I should talk to them first._

Kakashi and Naruto skidded to a stop in the clearing.  The four shinobi stared at one another for a moment, no one spoke.  Naruto’s jaw flapped open at the sight of Sasuke; for once even he was lost for words. 

“So it’s true.  Welcome back, Sasuke.”  Kakashi was the first to break the expectant silence, waving in his characteristically nonchalant way.  “You look pretty good for a dead guy.”

“Thanks.”  Sasuke replied drily, a small smirk on his lips.  “What, Naruto?  You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I-I-I-uh yeah!  What the hell?!”  Naruto sputtered, finally breaking out of his stunned silence.  “How are you alive?!”

Sakura grimaced, running a hand through her hair.  “It’s a long story.  Tsunade-sama can tell you everything.  How did you know, Kakashi-sensei?”

He shrugged, his bright hair bounced as he rocked back on his heels.  “I saw you break out of the Uchiha complex.  The chidori was pretty obvious.”

Sasuke crossed his arms, clearly feeling defensive.  Sakura almost let out a chuckle as she watched Naruto inspect Sasuke from every angle.  _He’s taking it pretty well._

“Sasuke’s the only reason that we got out of there.  He’s been living in a crow clone for the last few months.”

“Whaaaaat?”  Naruto demanded, planting his hands on his hips.  “Why didn’t you tell me that you were alive?!  Sakura, what the hell?!”

“We couldn’t get any messages to Konoha without Orochimaru noticing, stupid.”  Sasuke grumbled, a frown line appearing between his brows.  “The only contact we’ve had is with the Hokage through the slugs.  Sakura got reverse-summoned out of nowhere.”

Sakura didn’t miss the accusation in his tone, and she bristled.  “I didn’t know that Tsunade-sama was going to do that!  It’s not my fault that she didn’t say anything to anyone.”

“We were a little busy dealing with something else.”  Kakashi said diplomatically, raising his hands to get their attention.  Tension crackled through the air as the teammates regarded each other with thinly veiled irritation. 

Sakura sighed, gesturing at Sasuke.  “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you, but he’s here!  That should warrant some forgiveness, hey..?”  She added that last part hopefully, breathing a sigh of relief as Naruto’s face split into a wide grin.

Without any warning, he jumped forwards and swept Sakura and Sasuke into a bear hug.  Sasuke let out a small exclamation of protest that was drowned out by Sakura’s surprised squeak.  They stood there for a second in surprised silence before dissolving into laughter.   

Naruto began to yell excitedly, talking a mile a minute about what was happening in Konoha.  Sakura joined in, laughing every time Naruto cut her off with another question.  Sasuke interjected with helpful bits of information (albeit grumpily), but only when he could get a word in.

“Yeah so Raiton isn’t even a real guy-“

“We know, Naruto.”

“Yeah, it’s crazy, he had us all fooled-“

“I was the one who figured it out!”

“I was shocked!  How in the hell-“

“He’s got a kid-“

“Yeah, I flew around and figured out where she’s staying in the hideout-“

“Yuki, I know-“

“What about Orochimaru, is he making you do crazy shit-“

“I’m stuck in a crow all the time-“

“Shut up!  Let me talk for a second-“

Sakura glanced over her shoulder to see that Kakashi was just as happy as they were.  His visible eye was crinkled by a masked grin, and she gestured for him to join them. 

_Finally._

A few moments later the mood sobered, and Sakura reluctantly turned her attention to the matter at hand.  “I was afraid that you wouldn’t get my message.”

“Nah, it was loud and clear.”  Kakashi replied softly, his fingers absentmindedly flipping through the pages of his book.  She could hear the quiet _thwwp_ from inside his pocket. 

“Good.  I have a favor to ask.”

“Anything.”  Naruto crossed his arms and looked at her expectantly. 

Sasuke was watching her intensely, and she felt a small trickle of worry wind its way into her veins. 

“Well,” she began, glancing nervously at her teammates, “Itachi and I want to try and get Sasuke a sharingan.”

Sasuke’s eyes widened, and Naruto’s jaw dropped again.  She continued before she lost her nerve.  “Tsunade-sensei didn’t get rid of Itachi’s eyes when the original transplant happened.  Just in case it didn’t work, she kept them sealed away.”

Sasuke’s expression darkened and she could see his jaw clench.  _He’s angry that I didn’t tell him._

“For the clone?”  Naruto asked, confusion clouding his expression.  “How’s that going to work?”

“No, not for the clone,” Sasuke said darkly.  “She’s trying to reanimate me, properly.”

“Interesting, but how’s that going to work?”  Kakashi raised his eyebrow, glancing sideways at Sasuke. 

She sighed.  “It’s a long shot, but if Sasuke’s sharingan worked for Itachi, then it might work the other way.”

Naruto nodded, his hair flopping into his face as he thought it over.  “Okay, we’ll get them.”

She let out a long breath, relieved that they were willing to help.  She didn’t doubt them, but the security around Konoha was bound to be tight; she didn’t want to get her friends in trouble.

“Great.  Can you meet us on the outskirts of wind country in ten days?  I don’t think we can wait much longer than that.”

Naruto nodded again, and Kakashi flashed a small thumbs up.  “That’ll be easy.  Send a crow to guide us to the meeting spot.”

Sasuke, who had jammed his hands into his pockets in annoyance, finally spoke up.  “Thanks.”

Sakura felt a flash of affection as Naruto cheekily stuck his tongue out at Sasuke.  “It’s just one more reason for you to treat me to lunch!”

Sasuke’s expression switched from mildly amused and sheepish to grumpy in a matter of milliseconds.  “Whatever.  Let’s survive this first.”

Sakura let out a long breath, blowing her hair off her forehead.  _At least they’re getting along better than I thought they would._ Her thoughts were interrupted by Naruto flapping his hand at her. 

“Hey, can I ask you something?”

“Of course!”  She had a funny feeling that she knew what he was about to ask, and her stomach flipped uncomfortably.  _Konohamaru._

“I heard about what happened.  Do you want me to go to the kid’s grave for you?”  Naruto asked, seemingly morphing from the familiar kid that she knew into a grown man.  She felt the familiar prickle of tears behind her eyes and hurriedly turned away so that he couldn’t see her cry. 

“Thanks, Naruto.  That means a lot.”  She knew that her voice was rougher than usual, and she was very grateful that Naruto didn’t pry.  He understood.

“I’ll bring him some flowers or something tomorrow; you want me to say anything for ya?”

“Yeah, can you tell him that-“ she broke off, furiously scrubbing at the tears that threatened to run down her cheeks.  “-um, c-can you tell him that I’m sorry?”

“Will do.”

She turned, smiling tearfully at him.  Searching for a subject change, she noticed that Sasuke had wandered off to talk to Kakashi a dozen feet away, and she gestured to the pair.  “Who would have thought that we’d be back together again?”

Naruto chuckled, absentmindedly playing with his necklace.  “It seemed impossible.  Do you have to head back right away?”

Sakura groaned, her face scrunching into a frown.  “Unfortunately.  Itachi’s on his own right now, there’s no telling what Orochimaru’s mood swings are.  I have to grab some mushrooms on the way there.”

“Do I want to know what they’re for?”

She shook her head, knowing that he wouldn’t be impressed if he knew that they would help Orochimaru.  “Nope.  I hate to rush off, but you should probably get back to the village before anyone notices that you're gone.”

“Okay.  Be safe, alright?”  He regarded her with a mixture of worry and disappointment.  She wanted so badly to go home, but she knew what she had to do. 

“I’ll try.”  She smiled, trying to mask her own worry.  “Be careful.  Sasuke, are you ready to go?”

“Yeah.  We’ll be back in ten days.”

* * *

 

Sakura skidded to a halt, her stomach dropping as she took in the dark figure who barred her path back into the hideout. 

“Hello, Sakura.” 

Orochimaru’s oily tone sent a small shiver of fright up her spine.  She very subtly shifted her weight, balancing herself in case he tried to attack her.  She knew in her bones that she couldn’t kill him alone, but she could inflict enough damage to give her friends a chance.  “Hi.”

“You’ve made a bit of a habit of leaving without permission,” he said smoothly, taking a step towards her.  In the moonlight his eyes seemed to glow.  They regarded her coldly, glittering in the ghostly light.

“Since when do I need permission to leave to get supplies for your treatments?”  She asked sharply, hoping that she sounded more confident than she felt. 

He raised his eyebrows, apparently surprised by her response.  “Treatment.”

“Yes.”  She opened her pack and took out a handful of dark mushrooms.  The earthy scent of them permeated the air as she held them out for inspection.  “These will help with the necrosis.  They produce a spore that has regenerative properties.”

Orochimaru regarded her silently for a moment, and just when she thought that he might not have bought her story, he grinned. 

She’d never seen anything more disturbing in her life.

“Excellent!  You’re useful after all.  Well done, pet.”

She stared at him in shock as he turned and strode through the great stone doors of the hideout. 

_One of these days he’s not going to believe me.  Then I’m definitely done for._   She thought, adrenaline still hammering through her system.  She took a calming breath and followed him.

By the time she reached the courtyard, Orochimaru had disappeared into one of the many corridors that split off from the centre of the hideout.  She was glad that he was gone. 

Stepping onto a staircase that led her up to their rooms, she was startled by a hiss from the shadows. 

“Sakura!  Hey, come over here, un.”

The disembodied voice came from below her feet.  She spotted a flash of blond hair under the stairwell.

“Deidara, what are you doing under there?”

“Getting dirt,” he said, as if it was completely normal to squat underneath a set of stone stairs digging. 

She rolled her eyes and jumped down to meet him.  “Okay..?  Did you have something to tell me?”

“Yeah.  Your statue’s done, un.”

Sakura felt a flash of excitement and a grin spread over her face.  “Finally!  Great, can I see it?”

“Tomorrow.  Come to the workshop then, you can admire my work.”  Scooping up a pile of loose dirt, he stood up to his full height and looked at her imperiously though a curtain of hair.  “It may be my finest work yet.”

_Everything is coming together,_ Sakura thought excitedly, watching him stride away.  _It won’t be long now before Sasuke’s back for real._

Darting up the stairs, she began to look for Itachi. 

* * *

 

Tsunade glanced sideways at Fugaku, who stood using a cane.  He had lost some of his motor function after the treatment, something that she hadn’t done on purpose but wasn’t terribly sad over.  He’d taken the news remarkably well.

“You know the plan, as long as we stick to it everything will be fine,” she said distractedly, mostly to reassure herself.

Fugaku shot her a small glare, a muscle in his jaw working.  “I know.  I have no intention of ruining it.”

“Good.”  Her reply sounded a lot more confident than she felt, and she drew herself up to her full height.  Pushing the stone doors to the council amphitheater open, she walked purposefully to her seat.   Fugaku followed at a respectful distance, settling into his own seat across from her with little reaction.

Whispers travelled around the room; they had never been seen walking into a room together before.  Tsunade bit back a self-satisfied smile; now wasn’t the time to celebrate. 

“Good evening, everyone,” she called loudly, inclining her head at the rows of elders and clan representatives who were seated above her.  “Tonight, we’ll be discussing the security measures that I propose we add to the city wall as well as some important auxiliary issues.”

The room quieted immediately. 

Tsunade nodded for Fugaku to stand.  _We’d better get this over with_ , she thought grimly.

“I motion to hear from the Uchiha Clan head first.”  She gestured for Fugaku to start, so distracted by her worry that she almost missed Kakashi’s entrance.  He slipped into the room quietly, giving her an almost imperceptible nod as he took his seat behind her. 

“Council members.” 

Fugaku’s voice rang out through the room, and Tsunade was impressed by his stage presence, despite herself.   _Here we go._

“As you can see,”  Fugaku gestured to his cane, “I am no longer in excellent health.  Lady Hokage has discovered a…malignant growth inside my brain that is quite effectively a death sentence.  Given the fact that I no longer have any heirs to replace me, I am delegating my vote on the council to Tsunade Senju until my new heir is chosen.”

The chamber was alive with murmurs, the noise growing louder until the moderator began to yell for quiet.  Tsunade was relieved.

_As long as he doesn’t try to pull anything it’s going to work out as planned._

Her hopes were dashed as a reedy voice piped up from the stands. “The Lady Hokage already holds the veto vote position in the council; it is quite unorthodox that she be awarded another vote.”

“My situation is rather unorthodox,” Fugaku replied shortly, sitting back down.  “I’ve said my part.  My choice has been made.”

“No,” the same voice continued, and Tsunade searched the stands until she found the man who spoke.  She bristled, he was one of the oldest council members; it was Homura Mitokado.  She felt a flash of dislike, they’d never seen eye to eye. 

“She cannot hold that much power; it undermines the purpose of the council!”

“Very well, who do you suggest as a replacement?”  Tsunade demanded, annoyed.  She didn’t want another vote, but Fugaku giving up his position on the board was an effective way to keep the peace.  Without their figurehead, anyone who had been sympathetic to Fugaku’s plans for rebellion would have no choice but to try to fly under the radar.

“Well, given the situation, it would perhaps be wise to address one of the auxiliary issues right now.”

“Explain yourself, please,”  Tsunade forced out through gritted teeth. 

Her confusion was growing by the minute, and she felt as though she had lost control of the meeting _.  This isn’t how this was supposed to go!_

“Lady Tsunade, we don’t mean any disrespect.  But, given the events of the last six months, we are now facing the question of whether you are the best choice to continue to govern this village.”

Tsunade’s blood ran cold, and she stared up into the pews in disbelief.  _What?!_

She glanced at Kakashi, whose visible eye was narrowed.  Her gaze flickered over to Fugaku, who looked about as baffled as she felt.  _What the hell?!_

“In what way?  How have I failed Konoha?!”  She demanded, fury making her voice as cold as ice. "Spit it out!"

“You are very strangely involved in the murder of Sasuke Uchiha, and now it appears that you have made some sort of deal with the Uchiha clan head.  Most crucially, you overestimated the loyalty of your apprentice, Sakura Haruno.  Given that she has defected and has not been actively hunted by ANBU, you have allowed a major security risk to remain unchecked.  The death of Konohamaru Sarutobi could also have been prevented had you seen fit to act!”

She almost laughed.  _This is absurd._

"Sarutobi's grandson was equally as important to me as he was to you, Mitokado.  Sakura Haruno wasn't the Akatsuki member who killed him!"

"Regardless, the charge still stands."

Tsunade felt her hackles rising, and she forced herself to take a deep breath.  “I fail to see how any of my direct actions have caused any of those things to happen.  Yes, I diagnosed Fugaku this morning, but none of your other claims make any sense!”

“Perhaps not, but perhaps they will once a thorough, third-party investigation is completed.  Therefore, councilmen and women, I move to conduct a no-confidence vote.”

Tsunade saw Kakashi’s shoulders stiffen, and she fought back the urge to hit something, anything.  “That won’t be necessary.”

“Oh, I believe it is.  All those who are in favor of an investigation into the practices of the current Hokage, during which time an interim Hokage will take care of administration duties, please raise your hand and cast your vote.”

Tsunade’s stomach dropped as more than half of the hands in the room were raised.  She glanced over to Fugaku and saw with some relief that he had abstained from voting.

“The vote has passed with little opposition, please prepare to step down, Lady-Hokage,”  Mitokado continued, sitting back down in his chair as the room exploded with movement and arguing.

_I knew it.  I knew that something was wrong._

“Fine!  I’ll step aside, but there are only two people in this room who are capable of taking over the position with such short notice.  Given that the other one is currently in charge of our intelligence operations and will not be able to separate himself from this ludicrous investigation, I am naming Kakashi Hatake to serve as Hokage in my place.” 

She caught the widening of Kakashi’s visible eye and the furious shaking of his head out of the corner of her peripheral vision, but she didn’t back down. 

_Damn it!_


	31. Adumbration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tsunade and Kakashi deal with the aftermath of the disastrous council meeting. Sakura and Itachi find out some new information that could change their plans. Sasuke's statue is revealed, with an interesting surprise. Juugo's loyalties are tested.

**Hi everyone!  I just wanted to pop in here and say thank you for reading my story this far!  I promise that the action is going to start up soon, we're right around the corner from the climax!  It's been almost four years since I started this story, and I'm falling more in love with it as time goes on.  Thank you so much for all of the support! :)**

* * *

 

Tsunade paced furiously across her office, stopping only to slam back another cup of sake.  Kakashi watched her warily, still bamboozled by his sudden promotion to Hokage.   He wasn’t sure whether he should feel pissed off or flattered; he settled for a mixture between the two.

“Damn it!”  She suddenly hollered, throwing her cup across the room.  It shattered barely a foot above Fugaku’s head.  To his credit, he didn’t flinch.

“Hold on a minute, Tsunade-sama-“

“Don’t give me that shit, Kakashi.  I should be referring to you that way,” she said peevishly, whirling and planting her hands firmly on her desk.  “Sorry about the bombshell, but you’re the only person I would trust to handle being Hokage on such short notice." 

"Uh, thanks?"  He replied, trying to hide his discomfort by jamming his hands into his pockets.  

"This whole bullshit investigation smells like a rat.”  Tsunade didn't hesitate before continuing, her infamous temper was heating up quickly.  

She glared at Fugaku, who didn’t even have the good grace to look ashamed.  Kakashi watched with a sinking feeling of concern as Fugaku crossed his arms and glared right back. 

_Don’t do that.  Not when she’s mad, that’s a very bad idea._

“Yes, it was my idea, I told Mitokado that he should bring it up!” He said defiantly, his own anger simmering just below the surface.  “I’ve been sowing doubt about your ability to be a good Hokage for weeks! I couldn’t possibly know that you had everything under control!”

“Why, you scheming, meddling piece of-“

“Okay!  We’re just going to have to regroup.  This could be a good thing, Tsunade-sama.”  Kakashi interrupted, feeling like he was back to being a teacher.  Breaking up arguments was something he was very skilled at. 

_It’s just like if Sakura and Sasuke were fighting.  If you can’t persuade them to see reason, then you’d better give them something that they can both be happy about._

She turned, fixing her famous death-glare on him instead.  “You’d better have a very good explanation, Kakashi.”

He ruffled his hair, searching for the best way to approach the problem.  Years in ANBU had taught him how to turn almost any situation into a positive.  He grudgingly admitted that, yes, maybe it was for the best that she’d promoted him to Hokage. 

“Well,” he began carefully, sauntering over to the window and staring out into the night, “We can still turn this to our advantage by, uh-” 

“How? I’m a little flustered, Kakashi.  You’re going to have to spell it out,” Tsunade said grumpily, slumping in her chair. 

Finally, his brain decided to help him out by spitting out a plan.  Inwardly, he sighed. 

“When the investigation uncovers that Itachi and Sakura are still working for Konoha, it’ll make things easier when they come back.  But, we have to make sure that this sensitive information doesn’t get out.”

“I’m worried that it’ll get back to Orochimaru and he’ll kill them.”  Tsunade’s voice was suddenly soft, she looked exhausted. 

“Sakura and Itachi can handle it.  You told her how to manipulate him.  It’s Sasuke I’m concerned about.”

“He’s more vengeful than Itachi is, you mean.”  Her lips were pursed in thought.  She hurriedly downed another cup of sake.

_Do you really think that drinking is a good idea right now?_   Kakashi wouldn’t admit it, but getting drunk and hiding under a bridge for the next week sounded like a great idea. 

As if she could read his mind, she pointed an accusing finger at him.  “Hey!  Don’t judge me; I’m not the Hokage anymore.  I deserve a damn drink!”

“Now, now, I didn’t say anything,”  Kakashi said soothingly, a flash of fear running through him. _I’m not about to end up on the other end of your famous fists._

“I think you’d better explain to me what the hell is going on with my sons.”  Fugaku said loudly, clearly irritated that he wasn’t privy to anything. 

“We’ll tell you what we feel is safe for you to hear, don’t forget that you’ve forfeited any rights that you have when it comes to your sons!”  Tsunade snapped at him, her lip curling upwards in disgust as she glared daggers at Fugaku.  “They deserve better than you.”

_Oh man, these two are constantly at it._

Kakashi sighed deeply and continued, trying to derail the tension in the room.  “Look, if we can get it to the right people that they’re double agents, it’ll give you a lot of credibility.  The issue that we now have is figuring out how to keep Fugaku’s involvement to a minimum.”

“I don’t see how that’s possible.”  Fugaku said quietly, standing with some difficulty.  He leaned heavily on his cane as he slowly walked towards the desk and began to write on a piece of paper.  “I don’t care what happens to me, just spare my clan.”

“What are you doing?”  Tsunade asked suspiciously, peering at the characters that he’d written; from her angle they were upside down. 

“These are the names of the three men who are working directly under me, but the rest of the Uchiha aren’t involved.”

Tsunade groaned, running a hand over her face.  “Fugaku, I don’t know what can be done about that.  I might have to tell the elders the truth.  I’m worried that they’ll make the Uchiha clan an example.”

“Fine.  Let me die then.”  He replied quietly, still writing.  “It’s my fault, I should take the blame.”

“I’m not buying this “nice guy” act, Fugaku,” Tsunade grumbled quietly, her ears were starting to turn slightly pink from the sake.  “If you were really feeling bad about it, you’d return Shisui’s eyes to him.  You’re already dying, so that’s not much of a sacrifice.”

Fugaku stared at her for a moment, his expression unreadable. 

She flapped her hand at him.  “Forget it; it’s like I’m trying to reason with a brick wall.”

“Uh, Tsunade-sama, that’s what he used to be like.”  Kakashi said quietly, only loud enough for her to hear.  “You got enough of the poison out of his body; I remember this side of him.”

She stared at the Uchiha for a moment, clearly thinking hard.  Then she grunted.  “If you want to die for what you’ve done, that’s fine by me.  We can make sure that Orochimaru doesn’t get your body.” 

“Speaking of, that’s the next good thing.” Kakashi turned around and leaned against the windowsill.  He crossed his arms and tried to feign nonchalance.  His mind was whirring. 

“You’re going to have to clarify.”  Fugaku slowly returned to his seat, his dark eyes were watching Kakashi with a mixture of suspicion and confusion. 

“If Orochimaru thinks that you’ve been overthrown-” he nodded at Tsunade, “-then he’s more likely to act rashly.  I may be experienced in battle, but I’m not good at governing a village.  If we let a rumor slip out that I’m the worst Hokage we’ve ever had, he might make his move and overextend himself.”

Tsunade’s eyes were shining; she was clearly tipsy. 

“Yes,” she hissed, jumping to her feet and bustling around for more sake.  “Good point!”

“Now there’s just one more thing,” Kakashi said slowly, dreading what he was about to say next.  “We should lock Fugaku up.”

“What?!”

“Hear me out, Fugaku.”  He put his hands up in supplication, surveying the irate Uchiha with one hooded eye.  “We need to put you somewhere that Orochimaru or his lackeys can’t get to.  You can’t get to him, and he can’t find you.  We’ll keep control of the situation that way.”

“I don’t like it, but fine.”  Fugaku grumbled his approval, but Kakashi didn’t miss the way that his knuckles whitened on the top of the cane. 

“Get a message out there.  Tell everyone how useless I am.”  Kakashi’s tone was cheerful, but he was worried.  “Ask Ino to come up with the rumor.  She’ll have it out as far as the Land of Wind in no time.”

_This had better work._

* * *

 

Sakura let out a long breath, shaping her chakra into scalpels.  She carefully cut away at the dead flesh of Orochimaru’s arm, replacing it with regenerated skin that she’d made from the mushrooms.  Orochimaru didn’t make a sound as she worked, he just watched her.  It was creepy, the way that his keen eyes followed her every move, like a snake watching its prey.

Sitting under his intense gaze made her skin crawl. But, she was determined to feign nonchalance for as long as she could.  

Her mind was whirring with the details of their plans, if Orochimaru caught wind of what they were doing she had no doubt that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill them.

She schooled her features into a mask of concentration and fed another measure of chakra into his nerves.  She tsked quietly as she uncovered another new pocket of necrosis.  She’d long ago grown accustomed to the disgusting sights and smells that could accompany the body, but this was a whole new level of gross.   Even the mushrooms weren’t going to be able to do much to slow the death of the host; he was running on borrowed time. 

She stepped away for a moment to breathe and gather her thoughts, turning her back to Orochimaru as she washed her hands. 

“What I wouldn’t give to know what you’re thinking about in that little head of yours.” 

Sakura nearly jumped at his sudden observation.  She wasn’t expecting him to speak, and a shiver of fright wound its way into her veins.  _Shit._

“I’m concerned that you don’t have much time left in this body,” she replied quickly, determined to keep the conversation from wandering into dangerous territory.  “I’m surprised that you can move it at this point, frankly.”

“My jutsu is powerful,” he said smoothly, watching her intensely, “But even I have my limits.  Rest assured, I’ll have a new host soon.”

“Oh?”  She asked cautiously, winding what felt like miles of bandages around his arm and upper chest.  “Is it something that I’m going to need to help you with?”

“No, I’m afraid that I don’t trust you enough.”  His tone was neutral, but she felt the undercurrent of a threat underneath his words. 

_Fine by me._

“Ouch,” she said softly, “Well maybe you’ll eventually teach me.”

She suddenly flinched and let out a small shriek of surprise as a small snake brushed across her foot.  Sakura scrambled backwards, her hand pressed to her mouth as the snake wound its way up the table leg and into Orochimaru’s lap.  He chuckled darkly, watching her as he playfully tapped the snake on the head.

“Jumpy, aren’t you?”

“I just wasn’t expecting that!”  She was defensive, not because she was afraid of snakes, but because she hated to show any weakness in front of Orochimaru.  _He already thinks that I’m just riding on Itachi’s coattails._

She knew that it was the smart play to keep some of her little-known abilities a secret.  But she disliked acting like a weak, incapable child.  _He knows that Tsunade taught me a lot, but he can't possibly know the extent of it._   

Orochimaru’s attention was fixed on the snake, listening intently as it hissed.  Sakura groaned inwardly, reorganizing her supplies as she waited.  _I can’t wait to get out of here._

Unable to stall any longer, she turned her attention to healing Orochimaru’s back.  She glanced at the snake every few seconds, but it wasn’t using any actual words.  She felt a flash of frustration.  _How am I supposed to eavesdrop if the damn thing doesn’t talk like a normal familiar?_

“Well, well, well.  I just heard the most interesting thing.”  Orochimaru’s oily, self-satisfied tone made Sakura’s eyes narrow.  “It seems that our dear Tsunade has been forced to step down.”

Sakura was so shocked by the news that the chakra aura around her hands fizzled out entirely.  She hurriedly pushed more chakra into her hands, knowing full well that Orochimaru had felt it disappear. 

_What the hell?!  She’d better be okay, I’m going to tear Fugaku limb from limb if he’s done something to her!_

“Really?  Why?”

She knew that her voice shook, but she was determined to tell Orochimaru what he wanted to hear.  She would let herself get angry, but it had to be done strategically. 

“It appears that she’s been implicated in too many things.  There’s apparently some murder, treason…and the death of a Sarutobi brat to top it all off.”  He added the last part tauntingly, trying to get a rise out of her.  “Dear Sasuke dying was terribly inconvenient for all of us.”

_If only you knew, you creepy snake bastard._

Sakura bit the inside of her cheek to keep from losing her cool, focusing instead on the necrosis spreading down Orochimaru’s spine.  “It’s about time that the council stepped in.”

“Oh?”  His satisfied tone made her want to punch something, but she soldiered on.

“Konoha’s too interested in politics and in-fighting to care about anything important.  Fugaku murdered one son and tried to kill the other.  Not to mention that he also killed Shisui and his own wife.”

“Go on.” 

“Tsunade-” she gulped, forcing herself to drop the respectful honorific, “-was too busy trying to be impressive as Hokage to do anything about it.”

“I thought you were close with her.”

Sakura let out a bitter laugh, allowing her frustration to cloud her tone.  “I thought I was, but she’s just as bad as the rest of them.  She framed me!  She let me take the fall for Sasuke’s death.  Then she let a rumor start up that I stole Sasuke’s sharingan.  Thanks a lot, by the way, for letting Kabuto attack me-“

“Explain to me what Kabuto did.”  Orochimaru interrupted, fury flashing through his eyes. 

_Gotcha._

“He tried to kill me, down in the lab.  He said he was testing a theory.”  She turned away, watching out of the corner of her eye as Orochimaru twisted in his seat to watch her.  “He broke four of my ribs and tried to suffocate me.  He wanted to know if I actually had a sharingan, which we both know isn’t true.”

Orochimaru’s eyes narrowed and he slowly turned back around.  She let a tiny smirk turn up the corner of her mouth. 

“Why didn’t you kill him?”

She sighed.  “I can’t, even if I wanted to.  He’s your right hand; I assumed that he was acting on your orders.”

“Isn’t that interesting,” he mused coldly.  “Tell me, what are your feelings towards Fugaku?”

“Honestly, I want him dead.”  She spoke bluntly, her anger and frustration rising to the surface.  “You said that you would take Fugaku’s sharingan as payment for his debt.  If you still want it, Itachi and I will help you get it.”

“Patience, Sakura-chan.  You’ll have your revenge soon enough.  Be prepared to move on Konoha within the month.”  He said soothingly, rising fluidly to his feet.  “That’s enough for now.  I have some business to attend to.”

She was thrown by his abrupt subject change, but she just nodded and stepped aside.  He swept out of the room without a backwards glance.  She looked down and saw the small snake watching her. 

“Uh, can I help you?” She asked quietly, unnerved by its unblinking gaze. 

It merely flicked its tongue at her and slithered away.  Sakura watched it leave, and then hurriedly closed her office door behind it.  She leaned on her desk, thinking hard.

_Tsunade-sama, you’d better be okay._

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door easing open. She whirled, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw that it was just Itachi.  “You startled me.”

“You must have been distracted.”  He said quietly, striding over to stand beside her.  His dark eyes took in the anxious edge to her expression.  “I take it that Orochimaru said something that bothered you.”

 Knowing that she couldn’t keep secrets from him, she sat down and put her head on her hands. 

“Itachi, Tsunade-sama’s been removed.  She’s not Hokage anymore.”

“I’m not concerned.”

Her head snapped up, and she glared at him with a mixture of confusion and irritation.  “Please, enlighten me.  How on earth aren’t you concerned?  This is terrible, everything is falling apart!”

He chuckled, leaning nonchalantly on the desk next to her.  “Kakashi is her replacement.”

“How…?”

“Sasuke always hears things first.”

“Oh.  You couldn’t have started with that?”  She said quietly, her tone colored by her exhaustion.  “You don’t have to be so mysterious all the time.”

“You’re the only one who thinks I’m mysterious,” he continued softly, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.  “Speaking of, I finally met Juugo.”

“When?”

“I went down and talked to him yesterday.”

“Why did you wait until I was gone?”  She asked accusingly, crossing her arms.

His expression was neutral, but she could tell from the tension in his shoulders that he was worried.  “I don’t like knowing that he’s a wild card.  So, I went to try and persuade him to join us.”

Sakura felt her stomach drop, and she bolted upright.  “What did you say?”

“Relax, I didn’t tell him anything important.  I’m not an amateur.”  He replied, clearly irritated by her reaction.  “We talked about the test subjects, and what Orochimaru’s using his chakra for.”

Sakura was immediately placated, her curiosity overrode her frustration.  “He didn’t know?”

“No.  I asked him to consider helping us.  He said that he would give us an answer today.” 

Sakura allowed herself to relax, letting out a long breath as she leaned back against the desk.  “Do you think he’ll help?”

“Yes.  You’re right; he seems like a good person.  At the very least, he might think twice about letting Orochimaru take his chakra in the future.”

“Okay,” she said distractedly, her mind was full of too many thoughts to count.  As if he could read her mind, Itachi tapped her on the forehead, bringing her screeching back to reality. 

“Hm?”

“Don’t we have a statue to see?”  He asked, his expression changing from solemn to cautiously hopeful.  She grinned, a bolt of excitement running through her. 

“Yeah, are you ready to get your brother back?” 

“Of course I am.”

Sakura almost felt giddy as the corners of his mouth turned up, revealing his dimples.  She laughed, reaching over to brush her thumb across his lower lip.  “Let’s go.”

“Should we bring Sasuke?”

“Not yet, I don’t want him to be disappointed if it’s all wrong,” she replied, her smile disappearing.  “It might be better to surprise him with the finished product.”

“I hope Deidara hasn’t tried to make him look ridiculous,” Itachi said ruefully, twining a strand of her hair around his fingers. 

She shook her head, leaning over for a quick kiss.  “I’m sure it won’t be anything crazy, I gave him a sketch to work from.”

“The drawing from that weird girl and her team who showed up a couple of months ago, right.”

“Konan.  They were only here for a few days, they haven’t been back.  They bought something from Orochimaru and then left.  You were here for that.”

She shot him an exasperated look, she knew full well that he hadn't forgotten.  Easing the door open, she waited for Itachi to step into the hallway outside.  

“That’s strange.  How did they know what he looked like?”

“They knew Jiraya-sama; he apparently had a picture of Team Seven that he got from Naruto.”

“She struck me as being a little weird,” Itachi said cautiously, a frown line appearing between his brows. "Where were they from?"

“I have no idea.  Konan’s not weird, she’s just shy.  She kind of reminds me of Hinata, actually,” Sakura muttered as they made their way down the hallway.  She reflexively glanced around the courtyard for Sasuke, but she didn’t see him.

_I wonder where he is._

* * *

 Sasuke ruffled his wings, settling into a dark perch where he couldn’t be seen.  He masked his chakra signature easily, glaring into the room where Kabuto and Orochimaru were currently meeting.  Carefully, he hopped closer, trying to hear what they were saying.

“So it’s true?  Tsunade’s been overthrown?”  Orochimaru demanded eagerly, impatiently waiting for Kabuto to finish reading his intelligence scroll.

_Hm.  So what the mercenaries were saying is true. They’re still getting information from Konoha._

A flicker of worry flashed through his thoughts, if Tsunade wasn’t in power anymore then things were about to start getting intense.  She was the last measure of protection that Konoha relied on. 

_He’s arrogant enough to try and attack Konoha now._

“She’s been replaced by Kakashi Hatake, but apparently he was so late for his first day on the job that he missed most of the meetings.  Things are in chaos,” Kabuto read carefully, his eyebrows rising further and further into his hair as he took in more of the message.  “Also, he made some sort of lewd comment to the emissary from Suna?”

Sasuke almost snorted; it was just like Kakashi to be late.  His eyes narrowed at the last part.  Something didn’t seem right; it was almost like a rumor that Ino Yamanaka would start.  _It’s all too wrong; something’s going on in Konoha.  Kakashi would take the job seriously, someone's trying to make it look like Konoha's in trouble. Hm._

“Excellent.”  Orochimaru’s tone was jubilant; his eyes were shining with greed. 

“Fugaku succeeded then.  But we’ve lost contact with our operatives.  Nawa and Kasumi have both been taken into custody.”

“I don’t care about that, they don’t know anything.  We’ve got Konoha where we want them.  Prepare for the assault.”  Orochimaru said confidently, pacing back and forth in front of the window.  Sasuke pressed himself further into the alcove and continued to watch with narrowed eyes. 

“Orochimaru-sama, aren’t you concerned that Sakura and Itachi are planning something?”  The expression on Kabuto’s face was neutral, but Sasuke saw that his fists were clenched. 

_I wonder what they’ll do when they find out that I’m alive._

“Of course they are.  If Konoha catches on and kills Fugaku before I get to him, then it’s your responsibility to ensure that Itachi is ready for the transfer.  I don't want my plans to get derailed because they're scheming behind my back."

“Of course I’ll do that, Orochimaru-sama, at once.”

“I want you to find out what they're up to.  Something’s going on with those two, and while I doubt it could affect anything important, I still want to know why they’re so obsessed with Sasuke.”

“He was Itachi’s brother, and Sakura’s childhood crush.  I’m not surprised.”  Kabuto’s response was cool, his tone held a hint of doubt.

“No, there’s something else going on.  The rumors of Sakura’s sharingan can’t have come out of nowhere.  Tsunade’s not the type to spread lies, even if it’ll hurt someone who betrayed her.”

“Alright, I’ll look into it. Will there be anything else?”

“Yes.  By the way, if you ever go off on your own and act without my permission again, I won’t hesitate to kill you myself.”  Orochimaru’s tone was syrupy sweet, but Sasuke could tell without even seeing him that his eyes were dark and clouded with fury. 

Kabuto looked slightly uncomfortable, but he hid it well.  “That was my mistake.  It won’t happen again.  The last task?”

“Find out why the other members have left.”

“Who?  I don’t understand.”

“Kisame, Hidan, Kakuzu, and the others.  They’ve all left.  I want to know why, so you’re going to find out.”

“Of course.”  Kabuto replied, clearly mulling over this new information.  “You suspect that Itachi’s persuaded them to leave?”

“Possibly.”

“I’ll start with Sakura then, she’s the weaker link.”

Orochimaru let out a dark laugh, there was no mirth in the sound.  “She let you almost kill her, you idiot.  She only pretends to be weak to get information out of you.  Don’t make the mistake of underestimating her again.”

Without waiting for Kabuto’s response, he left. 

Sasuke watched for a few more minutes, taking extra care not to be seen as he hopped around the edge of the building and flew away. 

_Looks like things are getting interesting._

* * *

 Sakura glanced up, thinking that she’d heard the sound of soft wings.  She didn’t see Sasuke anywhere, so she continued on towards Deidara’s workshop.

She could feel her rising excitement winding through her veins, in a few seconds she would see the finished product.   

She heard it again. 

Sakura turned sharply; sure this time that she really did hear wings.  She finally spotted Sasuke, soaring into her office window.  _I’ll find him as soon as I’m finished here._

“Haruno, I think you’d better come and take a look,” Itachi called from inside the workshop.  She heard something in his tone that made her pause as she entered the room. 

Sakura craned her neck around to peer at Itachi.  She’d never seen him look so amused. _What..?_

 She trotted over to where he was standing, and almost tripped when she caught a glimpse of what he was staring at.  

_Oh my_.

 Deidara had taken the liberty of giving Sasuke some rather interesting assets. 

She had to clap a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.  _I don’t want to be the one to tell Sasuke.  Holy shit._

She knew that her eyes were as wide as saucers; she was having a hard time keeping her composure.  _Naruto’s sexy shadow clone jutsu has nothing on this!_   She thought, taking shallow breaths to prevent a giggle from escaping out of her mouth.

_Don’t you dare laugh!  It’ll offend him, and then he might not give up the statue!_

 Sasuke had certainly been well sculpted, the height and muscle tone were slightly off, but she supposed that Deidara had taken inspiration from Itachi’s build.  He was slightly taller than he was naturally; she knew that he wouldn’t be upset about that. 

It made him taller than Naruto, which was something he would probably point out every chance he got.  Interestingly, Deidara hadn’t sculpted any eyes; they were blank expanses of clay.

_That’ll make it easier to transplant the sharingan; I won’t have to worry about damaging any details that would affect his ability to see._

Overall, she was very impressed.  But she couldn’t stop staring at one part of his anatomy.  Idly, she wondered what had possessed Deidara to add that.  _Maybe there are some rumors about him that I’ve never heard._

She had to keep her hand pressed to her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.  It didn’t help that Itachi was also trying not to smile. 

“Well?”  Deidara demanded, standing impatiently behind them.   He tapped his foot, clearly waiting for their feedback.   

“Wow, well it’s certainly something!”  Sakura choked out, determined not to look at Itachi.  If she did, she knew that she would lose her cool.  “He’s not wearing any clothes, I wasn’t expecting that.”

“It’s art, un!”  Deidara huffed irritably and strode away, glaring at her over his shoulder.  “You told me to make him better than Itachi in every way!”

Sakura felt her cheeks warm as Itachi glanced at her.  She refused to look at him; her blush was still burning across her skin. 

_If we piss him off, he might not let us take the statue!_

She darted after Deidara, trying to do some damage control. “That’s not what I said!  I said that Itachi would be _jealous_.”

“Well he doesn’t look very irritated to me!”  Deidara grumbled, mashing a piece of clay between his palms.  Sakura forced down a shiver of disgust as the tongues on his hands began to wet the clay.  The squelching sound made her want to retch.

She forced a smile on her face and blundered forwards. 

“Of course he is!  He just doesn’t show his emotions like the rest of us do!”  She flapped her hand at him, praying that Itachi would play along. 

To her great relief, he did. 

“You’re right.  I feel thoroughly emasculated,” he said firmly, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he tried not to smirk. “Sasuke is just so impressive.”

 Sakura shot him a dark look and began to guide Deidara away.  “See?  I told you that he’d be unhappy!  You just surprised us, it looks really great.  Sasuke would be thrilled.”

Apparently placated, Deidara tossed his hair over his shoulder.  “Good, that should show Itachi that I’m not some washed up phony!”

“Is that what he said to you to start the fight?”  Sakura was surprised; Itachi wasn’t usually one to trade insults, no matter how annoyed he was. 

“No, but his eyes did all of the talking!”

Sakura did her best to ignore the urge to roll her own eyes and sighed.  “Uh, okay.  Well, thank you.”

Itachi glanced at her, and his slightly raised eyebrow and narrowed eyes asked a question that sent a shot of nervous energy through her body. 

_Should I provoke him into a fight now?_

_No! It’s not the right time!_

She quickly shook her head, ruffling her hair to hide the motion.  Deidara didn’t seem to notice, he was too busy reaming her out for bringing too much attention to his workshop.  She wasn’t really paying attention until he said something that made her brow furrow.

“Wait, say that again?”

“I said, that Orochimaru told me to get the statue done faster!  Asshole was trying to hurry my artistic process, un.”

“Why would he do that?”

“I don’t know!  He came slithering in here with Kabuto and they stared at it for a while, un.  Didn’t even give me any critiques, what the fuck was the point-“

“Deidara, did they say anything when they were here?”  Sakura was worried, she forced herself to unclench her fists and focus on what he was saying.

“Nah.  Nothing about the statue, Orochimaru just wanted to know why you wanted it.  Then he said something to Kabuto about things running right on schedule, un.”

“Thanks,” she muttered distractedly, glancing at Itachi.  The look he gave her was blank, but she knew him well enough to recognize the slight narrowing of his eyes; he was concerned. 

_The quicker we get Sasuke resurrected, the better._

She reached into her pack and pulled out the sealing scroll that she’d painstakingly painted that morning, tossing it to Itachi.  He caught it without comment and unfurled it, ignoring Deidara’s protests.

“We’re not going to let anything happen to it,” Sakura said soothingly, gesturing at Sasuke’s statue.  “It’s easier to move it this way.  It can’t get damaged if nothing touches it.”

“Fine, un.”  The blond shinobi replied grumpily, his hair falling over his left eye.

“So, we should probably pay you,” Sakura said brightly, trying to distract Deidara from what Itachi was doing.  She plastered a grin on her face as Itachi gently dragged the point of a kunai through the skin at the base of his palm, producing enough blood to activate the seal.

She watched as his hands flew through a predetermined set of hand signs, moving so fast that his hands blurred.  Sasuke’s statue disappeared in a puff of smoke.  She was worried that Deidara would glimpse the writing that made up the seal; it was a part of the forbidden jutsu that she planned to use to resurrect Sasuke.

The last thing that she needed was for someone as loose-lipped as Deidara to clue into what they were up to. 

“You can’t buy this kind of work!” Deidara huffed, flipping his ponytail over his shoulder in annoyance.  “I won’t take the insult, un.”

Sakura didn’t know what to say to that, so she glanced at Itachi, who had finished the sealing jutsu and was re-rolling the scroll.  He rose smoothly to his feet and walked over to where they were standing.  He took sight of her slightly panicked expression and a small smirk slid across his face.  “That’s not a concern, how about a map instead?”

“A map of what?”  Deidara’s expression was suspicious, he made no effort to hide his dislike of Itachi, but it appeared that he was intrigued.

“I’ve got a map of the richest clay and ore deposits in five countries,” Itachi said smoothly, depositing the scroll back into Sakura’s pack.  She almost squeaked in protest as his warm fingers brushed along the skin of her hip.  “I found it in Orochimaru’s archives.”

She supressed the urge to blush as his hand came to rest on the small of her back.  _Now is not the time!  I can’t concentrate when he does that,_ she thought grumpily.  _This is just payback for the statue._

“Pah!  I don’t want a map, what would I do with that, un?”

“Suit yourself.  But just so you know, some of those clay deposits have some of the richest concentrations of sulfur and saltpeter that’ve ever been found.” 

Deidara’s mouth dropped open for a fraction of a second before he recovered himself and crossed his arms.  “Fine.  I suppose that would be acceptable, un.  Now get out of here, I have work to do!”

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and allowed herself to be towed out of the workshop. 

“What the hell was that?!”  She hissed furiously, her voice low enough that they couldn’t be overheard. 

Itachi chuckled, stopping in a small alcove.  She suddenly found herself pressed into the wall, unnerved by the intense look in Itachi’s eye.

_Uh oh._

“You wanted me to find an excuse to rile him up; I don’t actually have a map,”  he said, slowly and deliberately.  She felt her blush rising in her cheeks again as he stepped closer.  “So, should I be jealous that Sasuke has a-“

“No!  Oh my god, I didn’t know that he was going to add that!”  She blurted out, her heart beating madly from his proximity.  He smirked, stopping a hair’s breadth away from her lips. 

“Hm.”

“Itachi-“ She cut off as his arm slid around her waist, pulling her closer.  “-You really don’t have to prove anything-“

“You’re right,” he murmured, his lips brushing along the shell of her ear.  Her knees threatened to give out, and she struggled to pay attention to what he was saying.  “But I don’t mind.”

She let out a groan of frustration and shifted so that she could look at him.  “Now is a really bad time-“

He chuckled, the sound of it rumbled through her body.  “Are you sure?”

“Uh, well, no-“

“Stop overthinking,” he teased softly, gently dragging his thumb over her lip.  She couldn’t help it, she melted a little.

Secretly, she was thrilled that he was always willing to fool around, but they really did have too many things to worry about.  As if he could sense how fast her mind was still working, Itachi sighed and leaned towards her.  Her thoughts came screeching to a halt as his lips gently brushed against hers.  She returned the pressure, all of her worries were suddenly forgotten. 

Pressing herself fully against him, she sighed contentedly as his arms wrapped around her.  

Not for the first time, she mentally patted herself on the back.  _I still don’t know how this happened, but damn, I’m not complaining._

Itachi’s free hand slid around the back of her head, angling her mouth more firmly against his.  She tangled her hands in his hair, for once she wasn't thinking about anything.  _This is what I needed-_

A cough behind them suddenly shattered the mood.  Sakura quickly disentangled herself from Itachi, glaring into the darkness. 

_I’m going to kill whoever it is-oh._

Her stomach flipped uncomfortably when she recognized Kabuto. 

“So sorry to interrupt,” he drawled unconvincingly, the look on his face was smug.  “But I need Sakura down in the lab.”

Itachi didn’t move, glaring darkly at Kabuto.  Feeling the tension rising between them, Sakura ran a reassuring hand down his arm.  He glanced at her, and when he saw the determination in her eyes, he finally stepped aside. 

“Sasuke’s upstairs,” she murmured, giving him a meaningful look.

“I’ll wait here for you,” he replied, just as quietly.  He tapped her on the forehead as he strode past her into the courtyard.  Sakura looked the other way, realizing that Kabuto had already left.  Ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach, she followed him down the stairs. 

“Kabuto,” she called, hurrying to catch up to him as he walked quickly down the hall.  “Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."  He replied cautiously, his torch casting eerily dancing shadows on the walls as he walked.  

"Did you know Kimimaro?”

She stopped in her tracks as he suddenly whirled and glared at her.  Her brow furrowed in confusion, but she ignored the pang of worry that assaulted her. 

“Who told you about him?”

“Juugo did.”  Her heart was hammering and her pulse was racing.  He stared at her for a moment before he continued down the hallway. 

“Yeah, Kimimaro was an interesting kid.  It’s too bad what happened to him.”

“Juugo said his kekkei genkai made him sick?”

Kabuto laughed coldly, his voice echoing off of the stone around them.  “Nah, he died from a lung disease.”

“What kind of lung disease isn’t curable?”  Sakura asked cautiously, fully aware that she was treading on thin ice; Kabuto wasn’t likely to attack her again but she didn’t trust him one bit.  She needed to be careful with her questions.  

“It was curable, but Orochimaru-sama didn’t want to delegate the resources,” he said breezily, unlocking the lab door with his key.  “His body was weak, so we moved on.  He couldn’t be Orochimaru-sama’s new host, he only chooses perfect specimens.”

“I see.”  Sakura’s tone was, thankfully, mildly curious.  But inwards, she was seething.  _Juugo’s here for nothing.  Orochimaru let his friend die because he was what, not worth the effort?!_

_“_ Why do you ask?” 

She knew that he was suspicious, so she tossed her hair over her shoulder and looked him right in the eye.  “He’s running out of time, he needs a new host.  I was curious about his selection process.”

“You don’t need to worry about that.”  Kabuto’s tone was firm; he wasn’t in the mood for any more questions.  “Focus on your own work.”

“Which is what, exactly?”  She felt her hackles rising, and she fought to keep her expression neutral. 

“You’ll be working with those samples over there.  I need you to test the blood for a gene called G19.”  Kabuto gestured to the far wall.  Sakura noticed with some surprise that there was another work station set up.  There was no evidence of their scuffle, all of the broken glass and furniture had been cleared away. 

_So, he’s decided to watch my every move.  There’s no way that he trusts me._

“Fine.” 

She settled herself into the chair and allowed chakra tendrils to drift out from her body.  There was no way that he could get close to her without her noticing.  She turned her attention to her work, but her mind was elsewhere. 

_In a few hours we’ll know if Juugo is on our side.  At this point we need all the help that we can get._

“Do you know why most of our members have left the hideout?”  Kabuto suddenly called across the lab, startling her out of her thoughts.  Her eyebrows shot upwards, she didn't know what he was talking about.  

_Y’know, for such a smart guy, he’s not exactly subtle._

She decided to tell him the truth.  “Nope, I didn’t even know that they were gone.”

“I see.  It’s no big deal; just go back to your work.”

 Sakura couldn’t put her finger on it, but Kabuto seemed a little bit flustered and desperate.  

_It might be easier to make him disappear than I thought._

* * *

 Itachi sat in the courtyard for hours, silently watching as the sun traced its way across the sky.  Sometime during the late afternoon, he heard soft wings flapping towards him. 

He turned to look over his shoulder, cracking a small smile as Sasuke landed on his shoulder.  “Where have you been?”

He spoke so quietly that even Sasuke had to pay attention to hear what he was saying. 

_“Eavesdropping,”_ Sasuke replied, ruffling his wings.  _“What I heard this morning about Konoha is true.”_

“Sakura found out from Orochimaru, she was worried.”

Sasuke clicked his beak, clearly annoyed.  _“He’s up to something.  He wants to know why you and Sakura are so concerned with me.”_

“Of course he does,” Itachi answered drily, his lips barely moving.  “You’re my brother and her teammate, so of course we’re concerned with you.”

_“He thinks it’s a little weird.”_

“Hm.  He was sniffing around Deidara’s workshop while he was building the statue too.”

_“So it’s done?”_   Sasuke couldn’t keep the hopeful note from his voice; he’d waited for so long, it was no wonder that he was excited to have a body back. 

“Yeah, I think you’ll like it.”  There was something about the way that he’d said those words that made Sasuke’s eyes narrow.  Itachi deliberately kept a smirk from his lips; there was no way that he was going to ruin the surprise.  “You’re going to be taller than Naruto.”

_“Hmph, I was already taller than him.”_

Itachi huffed softly, a barely noticeable expression of mirth.  He leaned over and put his elbows on his knees, pretending to adjust his sandal.  “You’re concerned.”

His statement wasn’t a question.  He could read the tension in Sasuke’s body easily after months of observing him in crow-form. 

_“We’re meeting Kakashi and Naruto in nine days, but what happens now that he’s Hokage?”_

“I don’t know, but we’ll meet them as planned,” Itachi admitted quietly, his brow furrowing in thought.  “Sakura should be done by now, I need to meet with Juugo.”

_“I’ll keep listening for anything interesting.  Don’t provoke the big guy.”_   Sasuke’s tone was neutral, but Itachi didn’t miss the way that he nervously hopped from one foot to the other.

“Watch your back,” he muttered as Sasuke dug his talons into his shoulder and took off. 

_“Yeah, I know.”_

Itachi watched him soar away, lost in thought.  He couldn’t ignore the sinking feeling that Juugo wasn’t going to see their side.  He wasn’t worried that Juugo would tell Orochimaru about their discussion, but he didn’t like knowing that the gentle giant’s loyalty was up in the air. 

He absentmindedly fingered the blade of a kunai in his pocket.  _If it comes down to it, I’ll try and make it as painless as possible._

He quickly made his way back down into the mountain.  He could sense both Sakura and Kabuto’s chakra signatures; nothing seemed amiss.  He breathed a quiet sigh of relief that there wasn’t anything going on that he needed to worry about; Kabuto wasn’t stupid enough to attack her twice. 

Out of habit, he masked his own chakra signature and made for the lab.  He was itching to talk to Juugo, but he wanted Sakura there.   

Itachi knew that she had a better relationship with Juugo, if anyone could make him see sense, it was her. 

He reached the door to the lab after what felt like an eternity.  Just as he raised his hand to knock, the door was flung open from the inside.  Kabuto stopped in his tracks; he clearly hadn’t been expecting to see Itachi.

“Uchiha, you can’t just sneak up on people,” he snapped, clearly embarrassed that he hadn’t sensed Itachi's presence outside the door. 

Itachi felt a small flash of satisfaction; his intention was to be as intimidating as possible.  _I promised Sakura that I wouldn’t threaten him directly, but she never said anything about unnerving him._  

“You’re leaving?”  He asked shortly, pushing past Kabuto and entering the lab without permission.  Sakura threw him a disapproving glare from where she sat.  Her message was clear:  _stop acting like such a guy, I’m fine!_

“Yes.  So you need to clear out.”  Kabuto was still standing at the door, holding it open with a tense look in his eye. 

“We’ll be out in a minute,” Itachi said smoothly, glancing over his shoulder at Kabuto.  “You don’t need to wait.”

He let a tiny hint of malice bleed into his tone, and the sharingan flooded suddenly over his eyes.  It clearly took all of Kabuto’s resolve to remain in the doorway; Itachi’s eyes obviously made him nervous.

Kabuto coughed uncomfortably.  Itachi’s mind whirred, taking in every detail of his stance.  _He’s not likely to pick a fight with me.  Just leave already._

Itachi could feel Sakura tensing behind him, and he redoubled his efforts.  He had the immense satisfaction of seeing Kabuto wilt slightly under his intense glare within a minute. 

“Fine, just lock up behind you.”  He finally sputtered, conceding defeat.  He turned on his heel and left, muttering angrily.  The door slammed behind him, and Sakura flinched at the sharp sound.

“Seriously, Itachi?”  She hissed, poking him in the shoulder.  “One of these days he might try to kill you!  Orochimaru’s clearly got him under some intense pressure.”

“He was interfering,” Itachi said simply, his steely expression softening.  “He needed to leave so that we can meet with Juugo in peace.”

She groaned, running a hand through her hair.  “I’ve been dreading that.”

“Did Kabuto give you any grief?”

Her expression lost its pinched look, and she shrugged.  “There was some half-hearted questioning about why so many of the members have left, but that’s about it.  I found out something that might change Juugo’s mind though.”

“Oh?”  His curiosity was piqued; he still wasn’t used to seeing this side of her.  He admired her determination, even though he knew that she wrestled with the morality of her actions. 

She shook her head, moving towards the door.  “I’ll explain it later.  But it might shift the balance in our favor.”

She stopped suddenly, resting her hand on the door handle as she turned to look over her shoulder.  “Itachi, am I a bad person for using Juugo’s emotions against him?”

He was struck by the way that her voice shook.  She was close to tears; he could see her eyes shimmering in the light.  Itachi stepped closer, taking her hand in his. 

“No,” he answered softly, “We’ve all made decisions that we regret.  You’re doing something that might not be morally clear for the right reasons.”

"I'm not even sure what the right reasons are anymore, Itachi,”  she whispered, squeezing his hand in hers.  “I’ve had to do so many things that are totally wrong since coming here, but for some reason I can still sleep at night.  I'm worried that I'm losing who I am.”

“We’re shinobi.”  Itachi said simply, tracing his thumb across the back of her knuckles.  “We don’t live by the same rules as everyone else.  It’s all blurred.  You're not losing who you are.”

"How can you be so sure?"

"You're still a huge pain in my ass,"  he said wryly, smirking at the hesitant smile that spread across her face.  

"You jerk."  She huffed, clearly too amused to be properly angry.  She then nodded, taking a deep, steadying breath.  “You’re right.”

“Are you sure that you’re up for this?” He let his worry cloud over his eyes, but she nodded firmly, holding her chin high. 

“Let’s get this over with.”

He led the way down the hallway and through the last few sets of stairs.  The great stone door to the cavern creaked as they entered.  Without them noticing, the sun had set.  The lack of sunlight in the cave made for a dark, damp room. 

Itachi heard the clanking of chains as Juugo moved around, and he decided immediately that he very much disliked not being able to see him.  Concentrating, he quickly signed several hand signs with one hand and gently blew on the torch sconce that he’d remembered seeing the day before.

The dry wood caught alight, and a bright circle of light from the flame bloomed around them. 

“Show off.” 

Sakura’s dry comment made him smirk, and he pulled the torch from the wall as they walked further into the cavern.  “Juugo?”

“I’m here.”

The soft reply came echoing out from the darkness.  He was sitting in his usual spot, sipping from a stone cup.  “Sakura, you’re back.”

“Hey, Juugo.  How are you? How’s your ankle?”

“I’m good, the ankle is healing.  The cushioning that you put around the shackle helped with the chafing.”

“Great!  I’m glad that it helped,” she chirped. 

Itachi suddenly felt a little awkward, feeling almost as if he was intruding on a reunion of some sort.   He planted the torch into a crack in the floor and settled into a cross-legged position, mirroring Juugo.  Sakura joined him. 

“I guess Itachi told you that he came to talk to me yesterday.”  Juugo didn’t seem surprised that they had come together. "Where were you?"

_He trusts her._

Itachi glanced at Sakura’s expression; he wasn’t surprised to see that she looked anxious. 

“I was out getting some special mushrooms and running a few errands, otherwise I would have come down with him.”

Itachi didn’t let his face show it, but he wasn’t expecting her to lie to Juugo.  Forcing his concern aside, he decided to address the elephant in the room.

“I won’t waste your time, Juugo.  You know why we’re here.  But Sakura has something to say before you give us your answer.”

Sakura threw him a slightly panicked look as Juugo’s gently confused attention shifted to her.

“Um, yeah,”  she said lamely, clenching her fists.  “Do you remember that you told me about Kimimaro?”

Juugo’s eyes crinkled up in a smile, and he nodded.  “Of course.  You asked me what I would do if I knew that Orochimaru had plans to hurt people.”

His eyes narrowed slightly on that last part, clearly, Sakura had struck a nerve.

_So that’s why he was so defensive.  She’d already brought it up to him._

Sakura’s expression turned sheepish, and she avoided Itachi’s inquisitive stare.  “I forgot about that, sorry.  I asked Kabuto about him, and I’m afraid that you might not have all of the facts about his death.”

Juugo didn’t say anything, but there was something about the set of his eyes that made Itachi suspect that he was worried.  He ran a hand through his fluffy hair, confirming Itachi’s suspicions.   “Okay?”

Sakura sighed, searching for the right words.  “Kabuto told me that he died of a lung disease.  Do you know why he came here in the first place?”

“He came to train with Orochimaru-sama, of course.  He was the first successful curse mark subject.”

“I’m afraid that that’s not the whole story, Kabuto lied to you. Orochimaru has a passion for studying kekkei genkai, and he-“

She glanced at Itachi for support.  He squeezed her hand reassuringly, silently urging her to continue. 

“-he wanted Kimimaro to be his host.  His plan was to train him to get strong enough so that he could survive a takeover.  When he got sick, Kabuto said that Orochimaru didn’t want him anymore.”

Her voice trembled as she finished, and Itachi watched as she stared entreatingly at Juugo.  The gentle giant was obviously shocked; his face was pale and his eyes were blinking furiously. 

“W-what are you saying?”  He stammered, his eyes were full of pain.

Sakura took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she whispered.  “They let him die.  They could have saved him, but Orochimaru didn’t care about him when he found out that Kimimaro was sick.”

“No!”  Juugo’s anguished yell reverberated through the cavern, echoing into the stone.  He collapsed in on himself, the chains clanked furiously against the stone floor.

“Itachi-“ Sakura yelled, throwing a hand up to guard her face as the air around Juugo suddenly exploded with violent energy.   She forced glowing green chakra into her hands, glancing at him with concern as Juugo roared again. 

“I know.  Calm down, Juugo!”  Itachi called, he was already on his feet and summoning his sharingan. 

Another pulse of dark energy exploded outwards, and Itachi had to brace himself to stay standing.  Sakura dug her heels into the ground, the stone shattered as she used her strength to keep her footing. 

“Itachi, the mangekyou!”

As the scarlet whirled across his dark eyes, he was already moving.  He got close enough to see that Juugo’s eyes were changing color, and his skin was shedding into some kind of scaly armor. 

“ **I’m gonna kill you!** ”  Juugo bellowed, his voice deepened and distorted by his rage.  He struggled against the chains, pulling hard enough to almost wrench them out of the ground.   

_So this is what the curse marks do.  Move quickly!_

Itachi didn’t waste any time, he pivoted and slammed Juugo into the ground, moving him just enough to get the mangekyou into the giant’s line of sight. 

Juugo stopped thrashing as his gaze met Itachi’s. 

_Stop fighting me._

* * *

Sakura watched in horror as Itachi slammed Juugo backwards.  They tumbled to the ground, and she couldn’t see what was happening as a huge cloud of dust rose up, obscuring her vision. 

She coughed, forcing more chakra into her hands.  Darting as close as she dared to the two men on the ground, she almost let out a sob of relief when she saw that Juugo was already starting to morph back to his regular form. 

Itachi’s mangekyou spun lazily, he was still concentrating.  Sakura had spent enough time in the mangekyou to know that he had probably spent a good hour talking to Juugo inside. _Did he exhaust his rage inside the sharingan, or did the sharingan stop it altogether?_

She let out a long breath, reabsorbing her chakra as Juugo slowly returned to his normal state.  His skin lightened up and lost its scaly appearance, and his hair was no longer dark as ash. 

Itachi stood up, taking a step back as Juugo opened his eyes.  He took one look at her, and he turned away as if he was ashamed.  Juugo didn’t seem surprised that he’d flown into a rage, but he did seem genuinely upset that they had witnessed that side of him.

_I’m so glad that Itachi was able to stop it,_ Sakura thought.  She was still trying to calm her racing heartbeat.  “Juugo..?”

“Thank you, Itachi,” Juugo murmured, turning his body so that he could rise into a sitting position.  “I’m sorry about that, I can’t control-“

“No apology needed.  You were in shock.”  Itachi’s expression was pensive, and Sakura recognized his guarded expression; he was looking at Juugo with sympathy. 

“Yeah, I was.”

“Have you made a decision?”  Itachi pressed gently, finally letting his bright sharingan flood away. 

Juugo was silent for a moment, still gathering himself.  Then he looked up, his face was now set in a grim mask of determination.  Sakura’s palms began to sweat, and she forced herself to breathe.

_This is it, the moment of truth._

“I’ll help you.” 


	32. Resurrection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things don't go as planned, Kakashi accepts that he's the new Hokage, and Sasuke returns.

Sakura’s gaze snapped towards the door.  A spike of adrenaline coursed through her veins as she registered a chakra signature moving towards them, fast and dangerous.  “Itachi-“

“I sense him.  Blow out the torch.”

She glanced over at Juugo, who was still cradling his head in his hands.  “Juugo, are you going to be okay?”

He looked up at her through his lashes, bathed in the flickering light from the torch.  He looked lost; the pain in his eyes was so profound that she found herself wishing that she could comfort him. 

“I think so,” he murmured, quickly testing the strength of the iron chains that still anchored him to the floor.  “These should hold.  The rage is still close to the surface, but I think I’ll be fine.”

“Sakura,” Itachi said sharply, warning her of the intruder’s impeding arrival.  She glanced over at him, just in time to watch him melt into the shadows.  She felt his chakra signature flicker away as he moved back into the darkness. 

“I know.”  She concentrated her own chakra and forced some of it into the soles of her feet.  Juugo snuffed out the torch as she ran up the wall of the cavern, finally coming to rest on the ceiling.  She held her breath in anticipation as the great stone door eased open and torchlight spilled onto the roughly hewn stone. 

Kabuto stepped into the room, blinking in the light of his torch.  Sakura felt an intense rush of dislike, but that might have been partly due to the fact that she was hanging upside down like an overgrown bat. 

She almost sighed aloud as blood immediately began to rush to her head, making her feel a little dizzy.  Inwardly, she reprimanded herself for hiding this way; she didn’t know how long she would be stuck in this position.  Her head began to pound, and she concentrated on maintaining her chakra bond to the ceiling.

_Don’t lose your concentration.  Pay attention, Sakura._

She knew that she was well camouflaged, but she still felt a shiver of unease winding through her veins as she watched Kabuto slowly make his way into the cavern.  A sudden energy spike made her glance over at the giant who sat cross-legged in the center of the room. 

 _Easy, big guy, don’t lose your cool._  

Juugo’s chakra was still moving quickly around his system, she narrowed her eyes and focused to sense it better.  It rioted under his skin, radiating danger.  She thanked her lucky stars that Itachi had been able to calm him, but she was still worried that he was too emotional to act rationally. 

 _What I wouldn’t give for a byakugan right now_ , she thought, hurriedly holding her breath again as Kabuto walked directly under her.  Juugo’s chakra fluctuated again, and she couldn’t help her concerned frown. 

_There’s an awful lot of activity coming from him right now.  I don’t know if it’s the right time to try to overpower Kabuto, but if Juugo loses it then I’ll have to make my move._

She decided to wait and watch.  

“Juugo,” Kabuto called, his keen eyes searching through the darkness.  “I felt a chakra spike coming from in here, are you all right?”

“Yes.”  Juugo’s curt response echoed out of the dark as he strode into the light of the torch.  The chains clanked ominously as he moved. 

“What happened?”  Kabuto’s falsely cheery tone made the hair on the back of Sakura’s neck stand up.  She resisted the urge to roll her eyes; he was so transparent. 

Her stomach dropped as she felt another chakra spike, stronger this time. 

Juugo didn’t answer for a long moment, scuffing his foot on the stone floor.  “I lost control,” he admitted quietly, avoiding Kabuto’s inquisitive stare. 

Grudgingly, Sakura was impressed.  Apparently Juugo was an excellent actor; there was nothing about his demeanor that hinted at the thinly suppressed anger beneath the surface. 

“Why?”

Sakura tensed, waiting with bated breath for Juugo’s answer.  She trusted him, but not fully.  He had been just reluctant enough to join them that she was worried that he might change his mind.

“I’m not sure,” Juugo answered finally, the subtle clenching of his fists was the only sign of his anger. 

“Hm, did it have anything to do with the fact that Sakura and Itachi are hiding in the dark?”  Kabuto asked smoothly, his gaze sweeping the room and coming to rest on the patch of darkness where Itachi had secreted himself.  “You two are usually a lot more subtle than this, you’re getting sloppy.”

Sakura’s blood ran cold as she registered what he was saying.  Juugo’s chakra fluctuated again, snapping her attention back to the hulking figure below her. 

_We don’t have a choice.  We’re going to have to get rid of Kabuto sooner than we expected._

Itachi’s quiet laugh radiated out from the darkness, but there was no mirth in the sound.  Sakura’s eyebrows shot upwards at the menace oozing from the shadows.  “You shouldn’t have come back down here.”

His voice was no louder than a whisper, but his dark timbre was more than enough to make Kabuto take a small step back.  He balanced himself immediately, and Sakura didn’t miss the slight movement of his hand towards his weapons pouch.  

Her concern for Juugo overrode her fear for her own safety and she made a split-second decision; she needed to make sure that Itachi and Kabuto didn’t trigger another rage. 

 _Shit._  

Cursing silently, she withdrew her chakra from her feet and flipped herself right side up as she fell.  She hit the ground hard, one leg splayed to distribute her weight.  The strain on her knees was well worth the shocked look on Kabuto’s face as she used her strength to blast through the stone beneath her feet.   She stood up, now standing in the middle of a circle of depressed rock. 

He clearly hadn’t been expecting her to be on the ceiling above him.  Absently, she wondered if it would have been a better idea to stay hidden.   

_Screw it._

Now wasn’t the time to act weak.  She had to fight to remain emotionless as Itachi materialized from the shadows, his sharingan whirring lazily. She wanted to grin like an idiot, sometimes he was just so _cool_ that she couldn't help but feel a little envious.  

 _Now that’s an entrance_ , she thought smugly, rising to her full height and fixing Kabuto with an icy glare.  “He’s right.  It was stupid to intrude.”

“Ah,” was all that he said, as he removed his glasses and casually began to clean them on his shirt hem.  Sakura’s eyes widened slightly as she watched him.  _Huh?_

Itachi’s expression didn’t change; she could see the tension in his body as he took another step into the light.  He was poised to strike, but his eyes suddenly locked onto hers.  She hoped fervently that he got the message that she was trying to send him, and she breathed a silent sigh of relief as his expression lost most of its venom.

_Don’t run headlong into a fight; I might be able to nip this in the bud before it starts._

Discreetly, she eased her right hand behind her and poked around in her weapons pouch for the vial that she was looking for.  She very slowly slid the stopper out and used a small measure of chakra to siphon out a drop of poison. 

Her movements were so minute that Kabuto clearly couldn’t sense what she was doing, but Itachi’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly as his sharingan surveyed her over Kabuto’s shoulder.  She was glad that Kabuto’s back was to her, but there was no telling what kind of tricks he had up his sleeve. 

“Well?  I don’t have the patience for dramatics, Kabuto,” Itachi said quietly, still radiating danger.  His sharingan stood out against the darkness, a clear warning in his eyes. 

Kabuto smirked, finally replacing his glasses and looking directly at the Uchiha.  “I was curious.  You don’t have any business skulking around down here.”

“Let me make something clear.  You don’t hold any authority over me.”  Itachi wasn’t in the mood for negotiation, and Sakura knew that he was quickly losing what little patience he had for Kabuto.  He hadn’t activated the mangekyou yet, and she didn’t know whether to be relieved or annoyed.  _The mangekyou could end this right now.  Why’s he waiting_?

Sakura remained silent, still working silently in preparation for a fight.  She was itching to give Kabuto a piece of her mind, but she didn’t want to draw attention to what she was doing.  Resisting the urge to add to the conversation, she continued to guide her chakra over the blade of a kunai. 

“In this case, I do.  Orochimaru’s authority flows through me.  Juugo is a precious asset, but you already knew that.”

Sakura almost snorted; Kabuto was equally as dramatic as his master. 

Juugo shifted uncomfortably, his eyes still fixed on his feet.   Sakura felt a pang of pity; he didn’t deserve to be treated like this.  His eyes flicked upwards, and she nodded almost imperceptibly at him.  _Don’t worry; we’ll get you out of here._

His worried frown softened, and he returned to staring at his feet.  Satisfied that he wasn’t going to try and intervene in the conversation, Sakura triumphantly finished what she was doing.  Another spike of dark energy from Juugo almost made her flinch, but she determinedly reabsorbed her chakra. 

Her fingers very slowly closed around a newly poisoned kunai, and she quickly popped the stopper back in the glass vial.  _Let’s see if that neurotoxin that I saved can be useful after all_. 

As if her body still remembered, she felt a small phantom pain in her hip as she recalled the small snake that had bit her when she’d been captured by Orochimaru.  _I don’t know if Kabuto has built up an immunity to this kind of poison, but it can’t hurt to try if things go sideways here._  

“I’ll ask you one more time, Kabuto.”  Itachi had easily slipped into the role of an ANBU interrogator; she knew that he had plenty of experience.   She let her thoughts wander back to some of the stories that he had told her, and she clenched her jaw in discomfort. 

“You tell me your reasons for being here and I’ll tell you mine.”  The glint in Kabuto’s eye was predatory, and Sakura found herself growing increasingly more annoyed at his attempts to stall. 

“Fine.”

She heard herself speaking, her frustration getting the best of her. 

“We wanted to see if Juugo is willing to help us free the people trapped here.  I can’t stand to see the way that the test subjects are treated; we wanted to know if he feels the same way.”

_A half-truth might be enough to keep him distracted._

Itachi’s icy gaze settled on her, but she ignored his annoyed glance.  She continued, despite the sinking feeling in her stomach that warned her to shut up.  “Go on, run to your boss and tell him.  That’s all you’re good for.”

The last part was petty, but it felt like a relief to finally unleash some of the resentment that had been stewing in her belly since he’d attacked her.  She wasn’t about to punch him into the ground, but it felt pretty damn good to take the edge off. 

Kabuto stared at her blankly for a moment, and then he began to laugh.  The cold sound of it traveled up Sakura’s spine, closely followed by a wave of goosebumps.  She stared back at him for a moment, waiting for him to explain himself. 

Itachi continued to watch him with suspicious eyes; he wasn’t buying it for a second. 

“That’s it?  It’s too bad; I was hoping that we were on the same page.”

“Which is what, exactly?”  Itachi asked icily, crossing his arms.  

Kabuto sighed, running a hand through his hair.  “There’s no point in playing coy.  My plan is to kill Orochimaru, and I’m going to use Juugo to do it.  You two are the only people foolish enough to help me.”

* * *

 

The classroom was bathed in cold, sterile light; the hum of the fluorescence was lost amid the quiet chatter that filled the room.  Kakashi sighed, giving up the pretense of reading his book altogether.  He couldn’t stall any longer; everyone who he had asked to come to the meeting had shown up.  He didn’t know whether to feel relieved or perturbed. 

 _There’s too much pressure._   _No one would want to be Hokage in their right mind,_ he thought darkly, pocketing his book and pacing out to the front of the academy classroom. 

The room fell silent as he took a piece of chalk and deliberately wrote the words “preparation is the first defense of a shinobi village”.

Determined not to let his worry get the best of him, he hurriedly scrawled a lackluster happy face on the bottom of the board.  He grimaced as the chalk snapped in half; that wasn’t a good sign. 

 He replaced the chalk and pivoted, turning to face the roomful of expectant jonin at last.  _Let’s get this over with_. 

“There’s no point in me telling you all about what happened at the council meeting,” he began, tilting his head to the side thoughtfully and surveying the group with his visible eye.  “You already know what happened through the rumor mill.  Given the circumstances, I’m going to need all of the help that I can get; I don’t really want to be Hokage.”

The room was silent; no one was willing to interrupt him.  Sighing deeply, he continued.  “I’ve asked your squads here for two reasons.  First, you’ve got a set of very specific skills that will come in handy.  Second, you’re all close enough to be trusted.  Ino, Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru have been involved in a top-security level clearance mission for the last six months.  It’s about time you were let in on the secret.”

The young adults in the room remained silent, although several of them began to throw each other confused looks. 

“Okay, so let’s get the big one out of the way.  Sasuke is alive.”

He couldn’t help his satisfied grin as a murmur tore through the room; Kiba and Tenten were especially shocked.

“Neji, if you wouldn’t mind..?”  Kakashi trailed off meaningfully, raising his eyebrow at the young Hyuuga.  Neji nodded curtly, gracefully rising to his feet and walking into the centre of the room. 

“Yes, Hokage-sama.  For this to make sense, you need to know that Sakura Haruno and Itachi Uchiha were part of my squad on an s-class mission half a year ago.  By the end of the mission it was decided by the Fifth Hokage that Sakura and Itachi needed to act as double agents and join the Akatsuki.  Our mission is to help them.”

Neji continued to speak over the shocked silence.

The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife as Neji laid out the events of the last six months.  Teammates shared meaningful glances and several of the students were clearly bursting with questions.  Shikamaru grumbled audibly as Neji recounted his role as Tsunade’s strategic adviser. 

Finally, Neji finished and returned to his seat beside Rock Lee.  Kakashi addressed the room, mentally preparing himself for an onslaught of questions.  “That’s all clear?”

“So that’s why you’ve been so secretive,” Gai commented loudly, rubbing his chin in thought.  “So, how much time do we have before we’re attacked by Orochimaru?”

Kakashi frowned behind his mask. _You already know the answer to that question.  Why does he always act like this?_

“I’m not sure.  It could be tomorrow.  Sakura and Itachi haven’t been able to pinpoint a date.  Their plan is to provoke him and lead him into our trap.  Resurrecting Sasuke might speed that up.  Our communication is limited.”  Kakashi shrugged, trying to convey nonchalance. 

He was worried, but he didn’t want his students to know that.   

A low whistle sounded from the left side of the room. 

“Well that explains a lot.  You guys have been acting weird for months. Not to mention that you came back into the village smelling like Sakura a couple of days ago too,” Kiba drawled, lazily putting his feet up on the desk.  “I thought I was going crazy.”

“You might be,” Choji snickered, sharing an amused look with Shikamaru.  Kiba glowered, but pressed on.

 “So, you need us to save their asses.  What’s the deal?”

Kakashi chuckled; amused by the look that Kurenai shot her student.  “No, it’s more likely that they’re going to save yours.  We’ve got a storm coming, and we’d better be prepared.”

He leaned back on the teacher’s desk, surveying the group in front of him.  “I’ve already discussed with your teachers what I need each of your squads to do.  We’ve planned to have your teams running intelligence, fortifications, and strategy.  We know what Orochimaru’s planning, and we know what he intends to do once he gets here.”

“Kakashi-sensei’s right,” Shikamaru grumbled, lacing his fingers together behind his head.  “Now that the power structure is falling apart, things are gonna get real troublesome.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Kakashi muttered, crossing his arms and peering at the room through his shock of silver hair.  “It’s going to be tough, but it’ll be manageable if we work together.”

“Hear, hear!”  Gai thundered, overly enthusiastic as usual.  Unsurprisingly, Lee echoed him.   Kakashi resisted the urge to roll his eyes.  _When I asked him to sit in on this meeting, I specifically asked him to keep the cheerleading to a minimum._

“Hold on, Kakashi-sensei, this is coming out of nowhere,” Kiba spoke up again, his annoyance radiating through the room.  “I get it, secret missions and all, but how are we going to explain to the village that they should just trust two people who left to join a terrorist organization?”

“What do you mean, Kiba?”  Kakashi raised his eyebrow, having already considered the situation.  “What kind of problems are you anticipating?”

“Well, okay.  So if we’re all fighting Orochimaru, who’s gonna tell the rest of the people fighting that they shouldn’t try and kill Sakura?  She’s in the bingo book!”

“I see.  Ino, you’re obviously dying to say something,” Kakashi replied wryly.  He’d noticed that she was practically vibrating in her chair; she was pissed. 

“Go ahead.”

Ino whirled, glaring at Kiba with a dark look that would have made Sakura proud.  “It doesn’t matter what they think, Sakura and Itachi are coming back to help us.  They aren’t guilty of the shit that they’ve been accused of!  As soon as people see that they’re fighting with us it won’t be an issue.”

“Hey, I don’t wanna be an asshole, but we’d better get our story straight.” He scowled at her, slamming his feet down on the ground as they glared at each other across the room.  “It’s a top-security level mission, how are we supposed to tell everyone to trust Sakura if we’re not allowed to talk about it?!”

“Too late, you’re already there!”  Ino snapped, crossing her arms and doubling down.  “We know the truth, that’s what matters!”

“Well, what about Konohamaru’s death?!  How are we going to explain that to everyone mid-battle?!”

“Well what you heard isn’t true, you know that.  Sakura didn’t kill him, in fact, Billboard Brow tried to _save_ him!  They aren’t murderers!”  She continued hotly, causing several of the other shinobi to nod in agreement. 

“Well, what does Asuma-sensei think?!  It was his nephew who died, should we just forgive them?!”

Kakashi’s eye flicked over to Asuma, watching for his reaction.  He shot a warning look at Kurenai, who was glaring at Kiba, ready to jump to her husband’s defense.  Reluctantly, she backed down, her striking eyes searching Asuma’s face for any sign of distress. 

Konohamaru’s death was still too fresh for all of them, he was curious to see what the Sarutobi patriarch thought of Ino’s statement.  Asuma was nodding in quiet agreement, his attention fixed on Ino. 

“Kiba, you just got told the truth.  Sakura and Itachi didn’t willingly kill anyone,” Ino finished tiredly, her anger clearly spent.  “Are you going to charge at them with murderous intent when you see them? I don’t think so.”

“You just told us that Itachi _did_ kill Sasuke,” Kiba retorted.  Akamaru yelped his support, wagging his tail enthusiastically. 

“It was an accident-” Ino began, but she cut off as Asuma non-verbally interrupted her.  She waited expectantly as his raised hand dropped back to his side. 

“It might be a hard pill for a lot of you to swallow, but I bet Sasuke’s return will help with that,” Asuma said drily, his expression a competing mixture of amusement and sorrow.  “There are a few ways around telling everyone the whole story; we’ll take care of the heavy lifting. The info will be better received if it’s coming from more established jonin, anyways.  You just need to worry about your own missions.

“Look, the bottom line is that Konoha is in a position to lose everything.  You kids were too young to fully understand what happened the last time that Orochimaru attacked Konoha.   If he succeeds this time, we’re all goners.   We’ve already lost too many of our own, my family is just an example.” 

Lazily, he flicked the ash off of his cigarette, pointedly avoiding Kakashi’s steady gaze.  “I’m going to kill the bastard, or die trying.  If you’ve got a problem with what we’re doing here, the door is over there.”

Touched by his friend’s candor, Kakashi shrugged.  “You heard him, you’re welcome to leave.  But I’m going to be frank; each and every one of you has a part to play in the coming weeks.” 

“What do you need us to do?” 

The soft voice that rang out from the back of the classroom was unexpected.  Hinata stood, flicking her long hair over her shoulder as she drew herself up to her full height.  “You said that Naruto needs support.”

“Yeah,” Kakashi agreed, holding up three fingers in a small salute.  “He does.  You volunteering?”

The blush that coloured her cheeks didn’t surprise anyone, but she didn’t seem affected by it.  “Yes, Hokage-sama.  I’ll help in any way that I can.” 

Shino followed her lead, rising to his feet.  “So will I.  I’ve run intelligence for Tsunade-sama before.”

“It’s a pain in the ass, but I’m in,” Shikamaru declared, easing his chair back and standing up. 

Chairs scraped against the floor as the remaining jonin stood up.  Kakashi felt a rush of affection for the present genin nine and Gai’s team, silently very proud.  Kiba was the remaining hold out, but after glancing at his peers, he sighed deeply and followed suit. 

“If Naruto needs the help, I may as well save his ass a few more times.  It’s about damn time you asked, Hokage-sama.”   

Kakashi grinned wolfishly behind his mask; some of his worry had been eased by the success of the meeting. 

“Speak to your squad leaders; they’ll assign you your missions.  You need to keep this quiet and watch each other’s backs.  Anyone who isn’t a part of these four squads is not to be trusted, got it?”

“Yes sir!”  The shinobi chorused as one. 

_Good.  We might survive this fight._

* * *

 

Tsunade grinned widely as Naruto sped past her, moving so quickly that he was a blur.  She let out a breathless exclamation of triumph as he finally slowed to a stop, panting audibly. 

“Did I do it?” He struggled to suck air into his lungs, his face red from exertion.  She laughed, planting her hands on her hips as she surveyed her student. 

“Yeah, you did.” 

His face lit up, and he started to dance on the spot.  She grinned at him, too proud to chastise him for celebrating early.  “Come on, let’s take a break.  I have something that I wanted to talk to you about.”

Naruto stopped, watching her with solemn eyes.  “I don’t like the sound of that.”

She sighed, leading him towards the grove of trees that surrounded the training grounds.  She nodded at the ANBU guards, silently asking them for some space.  Kakashi had insisted that some of the same bodyguards remain close to her, even though she wasn’t technically Hokage anymore.  

_“Look, this is just temporary.  We don’t want anyone to find out what you and Naruto are doing, so just take them.”  Kakashi sighed, trying and failing to appear apathetic.  “Hopefully this investigation is finished soon; I don’t know how you do it.”_

_She smirked, crossing her arms.  “You just don’t want the responsibility.  Trust me, kid, I don’t know what I’m doing either.  Maybe I’ll just retire; I’m too old for this.”_

_Turning on her heel, she opened the door to her former office and left, ignoring his sputtered protests._

They didn’t budge, so she added just a smidgen of ice to her glare.  Shifting uncomfortably, the leader of the trio bowed quickly and disappeared, taking his colleagues with him.  She didn’t wait for Naruto, just triumphantly sat down and arranged herself comfortably at the base of a large oak. 

Naruto flopped down next to her, hurriedly wiping his sweaty hair out of his face.  “You said that you wanted to talk to me about something?”

“I did.”  Tsunade sighed, glancing over at the young man who reminded her so much of both Dan and his own father.  “I know that we’ve never seen eye to eye on everything, but I hope that I didn’t disappoint ya.”

Without realizing it, she’d slipped into her casual dialect.  Naruto watched her with solemn eyes, waiting for her to continue.  “I know that sometimes I was hard on you, even though I had no reason to be.”

“Hang on, Tsunade, why does it sound like you’re trying to say goodbye?”  Naruto said sharply, his face scrunching into a worried frown.  “You’re not dying, are ya?”

She laughed, the warm sound easing the frown line between his brows.  “Nah, I just have a few things to get off my chest.” 

“Oh, okay.”

She surveyed him fondly as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a linen-wrapped bundle.  “Do you remember what I said to you when we first met?”

“Not really,” he said sheepishly, grinning at her.  “It was probably something about a bratty-nosed kid who doesn’t take no for an answer?”

She shook her head, a smile still firmly plastered on her lips.  “No, but that’s a good guess.  I told you that you look an awful lot like someone that I used to know.” 

“Oh. Uh, should I know who that is?”

Tsunade threw him an exasperated look.  “If you would shut up for two seconds I could tell ya.”

He turned red and looked away.  “Sorry.”

She leaned back against the tree and unwrapped the bundle.  “I used to spend a lot of time healing one group of overenthusiastic jonin the first time that I came back; they were always getting themselves into trouble.  Your father was one of them.  I didn’t know him well, but there was something about him that made people want to follow him to the ends of the earth.” 

She chuckled softly, deep in her memories.  “Which is probably why he and his friends were always covered in stitches.  Anyways, when I came back officially to start training for Hokage, old Sarutobi told me everything about who you were.  That information included who your parents are.”

The last fold of cloth slipped away from her mysterious package and Naruto’s mouth dropped open in shock.  Tsunade was holding one of his father’s Flying Thunder God kunai blades. 

“How did you…?”

“When the Third returned to power, he asked me to take care of a few precious possessions.  When he died, they officially became mine.  This was included in there, with a note.  Jiraya kept the note, I’m sure he meant to give it to you.  Sorry, kid.”

She handed the blade to Naruto, who stared at it with misty eyes. 

“It’s okay,” he said with difficulty, blinking hard to try and keep his tears at bay.  “What did the note say?”

Tsunade sighed, turning her face to the sun.  “Minato said to pass it on to his son, who would undoubtedly become the greatest Hokage that this world has ever seen.  Y’know, if someone had said that to me when I first met you, I would have laughed.”

Naruto’s eyes flickered up to her face; her voice had cracked at the end of her sentence.  She hurriedly cleared her throat and continued, ignoring the way that her eyes shimmered in the sunlight.  “But I gotta say, kid, you’re gonna make something out of this place.  I’m not worried about leaving you in charge someday, cause you’ve proven to me without a doubt that you and Sakura can take care of this ramshackle village when I’m gone.”

“Old lady, you’re-“

“I’m not dyin’, don’t start crying!”  She hurriedly snapped, wiping impatiently at her eyes.  “I just want you to know that your father would have been incredibly proud of you.  And if I don’t make it out of this fight with Orochimaru, I want ya to know that I am too.”

She finally looked at Naruto and couldn’t help her shiver of disgust.  “Your nose is running, aw no, don’t wipe it on your sleeve-“

“I’m fine, don’t start yellin’ at me!”  He grumbled, ignoring her protests and scrubbing at his face.  He hopped to his feet, curiously inspecting every inch of the kunai.  “Do you know how to use the technique?”

“No, but if you keep running as fast as you have been, you won’t need it.”  Tsunade murmured, gesturing at the giant stone seal.  “Go again; you’ve had enough of a break.”

He jogged back into the starting position, grumbling.  He didn’t see the tear that trickled down her face as she watched him.

_Yeah, Konoha is going to be just fine._

* * *

 

Sakura felt her jaw drop.  She forced herself to take a deep breath, crossing her arms and addressing Kabuto before she lost her nerve.  Channeling Tsunade, Sakura drew herself up to her full height and took control of the conversation. 

“What the hell are you talking about? You’re Orochimaru’s right hand, why would you…?”

“I’m no better than the dirt on his boots; he treats me like I’m disposable,” Kabuto snapped, looking at her over the top of his glasses with no small measure of derision.  “If you only knew how much of my work he takes credit for.  I’m the one who keeps this place running, and I’m pretty fucking tired of being his lapdog.”

“So, what, you thought that you’d come marching down here and try to make some friends?”  Itachi laughed quietly, his tone implying that he thought that Kabuto was a colossal idiot. 

“No, I knew there was no chance of that after I hit Sakura.  But we share a mutual dislike of Orochimaru, and that’s good enough for me.”

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you,” Sakura hissed, her temper flaring.  “You’re just as bad as he is.  It’s bad luck for you that we happen to need Orochimaru alive.  You’re more trouble than you’re worth.  The prisoners don’t deserve this treatment, and neither does Juugo.”

He glared at her, dropping his friendly façade completely.  The aura of danger that radiated off his skin sent a small frisson of fright down Sakura’s spine, but she defiantly held his gaze. 

“You won’t last another week with how transparent you are.  I knew that you were up to something when you asked me if I knew Kimimaro,” Kabuto replied coolly, he was growing more annoyed.  “The test subjects are mine.  There’s no way that you’ll walk out of here alive with them.”

“ **Don’t say his name**!”  Juugo’s enraged voice suddenly boomed across the room, and Sakura felt a surge of adrenaline flood through her body. 

The distortion of his voice was eerie, and it made every one of her instincts scream at her to run, to hide, and to get away as quickly as possible.  She’d forgotten that he was there; she’d been too absorbed in the conversation with Kabuto. 

Juugo was breathing shallowly, fighting hard against the rage that once again threatened to overtake him.  “ **You killed Kimimaro**.  **_You’ll pay for what you’ve done!_** _”_

“Juugo, you don’t understand, I didn’t have a choice-“ Kabuto called frantically, dropping into a defensive stance as dark chakra began to swirl around them. 

Sakura’s eyes widened.   She sensed Juugo’s intentions a split-second before his skin began to darken.  His hand shifted and he suddenly moved so fast that she couldn’t even see him. 

She started forwards, her hand outstretched as she yelled.  “No, Juugo-“

She wasn’t fast enough.  Juugo’s fist flew outwards; connecting with Kabuto’s ribs.  Kabuto went flying across the room, moving too quickly to stall his momentum.  He hit the stone wall with a crunch, his body crumpling to the floor.  She could hear at least nine bones cracking as he slowly slid to the ground without making a sound.

“ **No better than a rag doll** ,” Juugo growled, his skin shifting and changing as he took on his cursed form.  “ **I’ll break you like a toothpick!** ”

Sakura was already moving towards Kabuto, chakra blooming out of her hands as she darted across the stone floor.

_I can’t afford to lose my concentration._

“Itachi, cover me!”  She called, using chakra-enhanced muscles to vault over Juugo’s contorting form.  Twisting her body around to dodge his wildly swinging arms, she tapped down on the other side and rolled immediately to avoid a large, scaly wing. 

_What the hell?!_

She trusted that Itachi could handle Juugo.  She had tunnel vision; her only focus was to keep Kabuto alive.  She distantly heard the sounds of fighting behind her, but she couldn’t spare a single second to stare at the curse mark’s progenitor. 

Kabuto was dying. 

“Juugo, calm down.”   She heard Itachi talking, but she was so focused that it was like his voice was coming from far away.  Sakura heard a faint thud and a grunt of pain, but despite her instinct to, she didn’t look back. 

Skidding to a halt, she scrambled to turn Kabuto’s body over.  Immediately, her hopes were dashed as she took in the crooked angle of his neck; it was broken. 

She let out a gasp that was half-a sob.  “Itachi, his neck is broken-“ 

“I’m a little busy, Sakura-“ 

She heard Juugo roar and Itachi’s quiet curse as he dodged what sounded like a boulder hitting the ground.  She glanced over her shoulder and allowed herself a second of horrified observation.  Juugo’s body had sprouted a large pair of wings, which were shielding his body from Itachi’s sharingan.  Itachi moved so quickly that she could barely see him, dodging and parrying. 

_All that Itachi has to do is get the mangekyou into Juugo’s sightline, but he’s already learned from the last time!  I should help him, I can distract him- wait!_

She cut off, suddenly sensing a flicker of chakra.  “Wait, Kabuto’s still alive!  Hang on-“ 

Hands moving frantically, she concentrated her chakra and fed it into his spinal column.  Her hopes were dashed; there was no electrical activity in his brain that would signify that he was still able to function.  She let out a frustrated growl as she worked furiously to stop his brain from swelling and preserve what was left of his spinal cord. 

_Damn it!  The stupid fool had to go and bring up the one thing that would upset Juugo!_

Hurriedly, she tried to ignore the small part of her that urged her to celebrate Kabuto’s condition.  _If he’s like this, you don’t have to feel guilty about using him to bring Sasuke back.  He would have tried to kill you at some point, at least this way you can make sure that something good comes out of his miserable life._  

Her head snapped towards the fight behind her as she finally stabilized Kabuto’s body.  Itachi didn’t seem to have any issue fighting Juugo off, but he wasn’t able to get close enough to use his sharingan with the giant wings buffeting him at every turn. 

Sakura jumped to her feet, pushing chakra into her legs as she exploded towards Juugo.  Itachi’s shout of warning came just in time; she had to twist suddenly to avoid a clawed arm.  Her brain kicked into overdrive, assessing all of Juugo’s possible weak points.  Making a quick decision, she rolled and punched the underside of his giant, scaly elbow with all of her might.

The sound of bone crunching rent through the air, and she had to brace against the ground as the joint suddenly sprung back into place.  She stared at it in shocked silence for a split-second until the edge of a wing caught her in the ribs and sent her flying.  Sakura hit the ground hard, wheezing as the air was knocked out of her lungs.  _It’s like he’s made of stone!_

Itachi spun, using a well-placed kick to Juugo’s ribs to drive the giant backwards.  He wasn’t fast enough to get under Juugo’s wings, and the dance began anew. 

Sakura curled her hand around the poisoned kunai, unsure whether or not she should throw it.  For all she knew, the neurotoxin had been derived from Juugo’s cells.  It might not do anything at all to stop him. 

She finally made her decision and threw it hard towards Juugo’s scaly, protected back anyway.  The kunai buried itself up to the hilt, making a sound that was like a sword hitting a shield as it pierced through several layers of carapace. 

Juugo roared, although it seemed to be more in annoyance than pain, and whirled.  He stalked towards her, the look in his eyes frightened her more than she wanted to admit.  She strafed backwards, sending chakra through her body, strengthening her muscles and reinforcing her bones. 

 _If he’s going to break any of my bones, I’d better be prepared to heal myself on the run,_ she thought determinedly, watching Itachi out of the corner of her eye.  _The neurotoxin didn’t work, damn it!  I was hoping that it would slow him down, but it just made him more pissed off!_

“ **Hold still, I’m gonna crush you**!”  Juugo roared at her, still lumbering towards her with surprising speed.  She scrambled backwards, nearly jumping in surprise as Itachi landed in front of her, his sharingan spinning. 

They were forced to dodge to the side as the giant swiped at them with a huge, taloned hand.  They skidded to a stop; Itachi quickly put his body between Sakura and Juugo again. 

“Are you alright?” He shot over his shoulder.  She was touched by his concern, but she gasped as Juugo began to sprint towards them. 

“I’m fine!  Can you get under his guard if I distract him?”

“Yes-“  Itachi cut off as they were forced to dive in different directions.  Rather than get close enough to be vulnerable, Juugo had decided to try a different tactic.  He was currently pulling large hunks of rock out of the cavern floor and walls and was hurling the boulders at them with all of his might.

 If Sakura hadn’t been afraid for her life, she would have been impressed.  His murderous chakra began to swirl around them again, and she felt her heartbeat accelerate as a concussion blast forced her to skid backwards. 

 _I’m going to need all of my strength if he gets close_.  She concentrated hard, forcing her chakra to bloom outwards. 

“Keep the boulders away from Kabuto,” she called, darting a nervous glance upwards.  “If we don’t stop him, he might bring the whole mountain down!”

“Understood!  Just stay out of his way-“  Itachi’s reply was drowned out by the thundering of breaking rock as another boulder hit the ground where he’d been crouching a few seconds before. 

Sakura’s attention was drawn upwards as a streak of midnight black came swooping into the cavern.  Sasuke flapped above the fight for a moment before diving down towards her.  He’d entered from the air vent a hundred feet above their heads.  Sakura was suddenly concerned; if Sasuke knew that they were fighting, then Orochimaru probably did too. 

“Sasuke, over here!” 

Without thinking, Sakura siphoned his chakra out of the clone and pulled it into her seal.  Sasuke’s chakra blazed out from behind her eyes, and she suddenly felt the familiar searing pain of his sharingan. 

She could see pale apparitions of both Itachi and Juugo, each moving a split second faster than their flesh and blood counterparts.  She blinked hard, trying to control the intense pressure behind her irises.

 _Relax,_ Sasuke’s voice said sharply. _Let the sharingan do the work.  The more that you fight it, the more damage it’ll do._

“Got it!”  She lunged forwards, timing her approach.  As Juugo’s large, stone covered arm lashed downwards to crush Itachi, she dropped to one knee, concentrated her chakra, and _pushed_. 

She let out a grunt of exertion as Juugo’s arm landed in the junction between her forearm and her elbow.  The stone beneath her knee cracked and shattered as the impact drove both of them several inches into the ground.  She let out an unconscious snarl as she resisted his attempts to drive her into the floor, her strength barely a match for his. 

Juugo roared again, his other arm swinging towards her head.  She caught it with her other hand, forcing all of her chakra into her legs, making Juugo lose his balance slightly and step back.  She _pushed_ , using her leverage to force the giant to his knees. 

Itachi loomed over her shoulder, finally able to get the mangekyou into the giant’s line of sight.  The wings, which flapped uselessly behind Juugo’s bent knees, immediately went limp and began to recede.  Sakura’s poisoned kunai dropped out of Juugo’s carapace and clinked loudly as it hit the ground. 

Sakura sighed with relief and gratefully released Juugo’s arms as he began to shrink, losing his scaly appearance and regaining his golden eyes.  Her eyes suddenly throbbed with pain as she looked towards Kabuto’s abandoned torch and she reflexively clapped a hand to her face.  _No, the sharingan!_

Itachi watched Juugo silently, his sharingan spinning so fast that she could barely see the black tomoe.  He was deep in the mangekyou. She watched him for a moment through her fingers, waiting for the searing ache to fade away from her eyes.  She felt Sasuke’s chakra ebbing away as he reformed the crow clone, but her hand came away from her face streaked with blood.

She crushed a small flash of panic with great effort, turning away from Itachi and hurriedly healing the damage to her sclera.  Wiping the blood from her face with a bandage, she remembered her earlier panic and darted over to where Itachi was helping Juugo to stand up.

“Itachi, we need to get a message to Konoha, now.  We don’t have any time.  The transfer has to happen tonight.”  Her voice didn’t tremble, and for that she was grateful.  “Kabuto’s body won’t hold out for much longer.”

“Sakura, I’m sorry, I-“ Juugo’s voice cracked, the sound of it was hoarse from his transformation.  She laid a reassuring hand on his arm, relieved that he’d been stopped before he’d injured them. 

“It’s okay.  Just rest now, we’ll be back in a couple of days.” 

The situation had turned from bad to worse. 

They couldn’t wait any longer. 

* * *

 

Kakashi sighed and rubbed his temples.  He toyed with his chopsticks absentmindedly, not paying any attention to what Naruto was yammering about.  “Uh huh, that’s great, Naruto,” he said distractedly, his mind whirring through his meeting with the jonin squads. 

“Yeah, so as I was saying, as soon as I started training my fart chakra, my wind-style techniques started getting really good and-“

“Wait, back up.  Your _what_ chakra?”  Shikamaru asked sharply, stopping mid-drink to peer suspiciously at him.  “You’ve got to be joking.”

“Fart chakra!  F-A-R-T-“

“I heard you, dumbass.”

“Y’know, it’s like when you’ve had some bad milk and-” Naruto clarified, loud and slow. 

“You idiot.”  Shikamaru began to laugh, his face turning red as Naruto began to sputter indignantly. 

“Nah, it’s a real thing-“

“It’s your _heart_ chakra, Naruto,” Kakashi groaned, trying and failing to keep his grin at bay.  He was glad for his mask, and certainly not for the first time.  “You’d think that you’d have learned from Jiraya-sama what they’re called.”

"That's what he called it!"

"Probably as a joke!  Only you'd be gullible enough to believe him." Shikamaru ran a hand over his face, searching for inner calm.  Kakashi resisted the urge to chuckle.  

“What?  So I’ve been focusing on the wrong part of my body for five years?!”

“Five years?!  Naruto, you’re the biggest idiot I’ve ever met.” 

Shikamaru was getting heated; his beer and ramen lay forgotten as he began to ream Naruto out.  Kakashi groaned, preparing himself to intervene when a small slug suddenly appeared out of nowhere.  She blinked in the light, collapsing in on herself under the bright glow of the ramen-stand lanterns. 

“Hey little one, everything okay?”  Kakashi spoke quietly, trying not to bring too much attention to the small creature.  He felt a small stab of unease.  _Sakura wouldn’t send a message this obvious if she wasn’t in danger._

“Kakashi, Sakura’s in trouble!”  The slug squeaked, rising up and looking at him with two bulbous eyes.  “They need you to bring the eyes to the spot where you met last time, right away!”

Naruto and Shikamaru watched the quiet exchange silently, their argument forgotten.  Kakashi nodded, confirming that he’d heard the message.  “I got it.  Can you tell her that I’ll be there as soon as I can?”

“Yep!”  The slug said confidently, disappearing in a small puff of smoke.  Naruto hopped off his stool, staring intently at the Hokage. 

“Kakashi-sensei, we gotta go!”  He exclaimed, darting towards the hospital.  Shikamaru shot a dark look at his retreating back before slapping several bills down on the counter.  “What do you need?”

“I need secrecy.  Make sure that no one follows Naruto and I, that includes the ANBU squad,” he murmured distractedly, already heading for the Hokage tower.  “Let Tsunade-sama know what’s happened.”

“Yes, sir.”  Shikamaru took off, shooting upwards.  Kakashi could hear the faint tapping of his sandals as he left, running with enough speed to rival Naruto. 

_It’s life or death.  Something bad must have happened._

* * *

 

Sakura could hear her breath, whooshing in and out of her lungs as they traveled.  She forced her body to move faster, adjusting her burden of Kabuto’s body on the fly.  His lungs were still working fine, but she wanted to make sure that she was in constant physical contact with him as they moved. 

Her eyes were still sore, and they twinged as she glanced over at Itachi.  He was staring straight ahead with his characteristic stoicism firmly in place.  She felt the corner of her mouth turn up as she thought about their conversation as they’d left the hideout. 

_“Your eyes, Sakura.  You were bleeding.”   Itachi strode purposefully towards her as soon as Juugo was settled, having seen the blood on her palms.  She suspected that it had also dried on her face; bloody tears were hardly the look that she’d been going for._

_“I’m okay, really,” she replied tiredly, allowing him to fuss over her.  He’d cupped her face, inspecting the damage._

_“I can’t see anything,” he trailed off thoughtfully, his warm hands turning her face gently to each side.  “You’re sure that you healed all of the damage?”_

_“Yes, I’m good.  Really, Itachi,” she said firmly, covering his hands with her own.  Something very vulnerable flashed through his expression, and she found herself staring at him in surprise._

_“You really like to dash into the middle of a fight.  Promise me you’ll warn me if you’re going to do something like that again,” he said insistently, his eyes searching hers.  She got the message loud and clear, wrapping her arms around him and nodding._

_“I’m sorry.  It was all a spur of the moment decision.  Do you feel emasculated by my monstrous strength too?”  She teased, perking up as she saw the faint outline of his dimple appearing on his cheek._

_“Hardly.  I like that you can throw me around,” he replied firmly, resting his chin on the top of her head.  “You’re sure that you’re fine..? The sharingan’s side effects stuck around for days last time.”_

_“Yeah, I’m okay.”  She sighed and closed her eyes as he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.  “We need to get going.  Let me send a slug message.  How fast do you think we can get to Konoha?”_

_“Three hours, if we hurry.  Juugo, are you going to be okay until we get back?”_

_Sakura’s head swivelled around to check his reaction.  He’d been meditating, trying to calm the rest of his chakra.  His tawny eyes opened, and he smiled gently.  “Yeah, don’t worry about me.  Just take care of what you need to.  I’ll be here.”_

_His gentle smile was overshadowed by the haunted look in his eyes.  Sakura forced down a wave of pity and smiled back.  “We’ll be back with Sasuke.”_

_“Yeah, it’s about time you remembered me,” Sasuke said waspishly, hopping back and forth across Sakura’s feet.  “Aren’t we supposed to be working against the clock?”_

_“Hang on, just let me summon Ringo.”  Sakura hurriedly dragged her incisor down the heel of her palm, drawing enough blood for the summoning jutsu._

Her attention was drawn back to the present as they slowed to a stop.  Itachi held up a hand, scarlet eyes searching through the darkness.  “They’re here.”

Sakura gently unshouldered Kabuto, nodding at Itachi to pull out the sealing scroll that held Sasuke’s statue.  She hurriedly forced her suffocating guilt away, she didn't have time to wrestle with the morality of what she was about to do. 

“Can you cast a silencing jutsu as soon as they get here?  I’m going to get everything started so that we don’t lose any more time.”

His eyes searched her face, but she didn’t feel any anxiety, much to her surprise.

“Can you handle the jutsu by yourself?”  He asked quietly, handing her the scroll.  She swept her hair away from her forehead, trying to convey more confidence than she felt.  “Yes.  I know that I’ve already asked so much of you, but if there isn’t enough chakra-“

“Yes,” he said quickly, his expression so openly vulnerable that she felt her heart flutter.  “Take all of mine if that’s what you need.”

“It won’t come to that!”

“Just in case,” he murmured, looking over her shoulder with interest as Kakashi and Naruto landed in the clearing.  Sakura felt a flash of relief.  If anything went wrong, she was glad to have them with her.  

“Naruto, Kakashi-sensei!  Did you get them?”

Kakashi pulled a scroll out of his pocket, tossing it over to her with a practiced hand.  “Yeah, they were right where you said they were.”

"Itachi, if this is weird for you-"

Sakura snuck a glance at Itachi, who was watching the scroll with an enigmatic look in his eye.  “Go ahead, they aren't my eyes anymore.  I'm not attached to them.”

Sakura's jaw dropped.  _Did he just make a punny joke, right now, as we're about to attempt to bring his brother back to life?!_

The glint in his eye confirmed her suspicions.

 _I'm in love with a madman_ , she thought with amazement, forcing her mind back to the task at hand.  _He must be so excited to have Sasuke back for real._

Without wasting another moment, Itachi began to sign, casting a powerful genjutsu over the forest around them.  Sakura unsealed both of the scrolls, getting herself organized. 

She looked up in surprise as Sasuke suddenly made a choking sound.  It took every ounce of her control to stop her laughter; he’d caught sight of his statue.  Naruto swore loudly, and even Kakashi looked openly impressed. 

“Well, Sasuke, that’s quite an improvement.  If you thought that you might have a hard time getting a girlfriend when you get back,” Kakashi trailed off meaningfully, sharing an amused glance with Sakura and Itachi as Naruto openly stared, “I wouldn’t be worried.”

Sasuke continued to sputter, flapping around and darting from side to side.  _“Sakura, can you at least put a towel on it-“_

“Sorry, Sasuke!”  She laughed, hurriedly drawing a large circle with a piece of chalk.  “Hopefully you’re not too disappointed.”

His grumbled reply confirmed her suspicions, that no, he was most certainly not disappointed by Deidara’s spiteful addition to his statue. 

* * *

 

Itachi watched closely as Sakura worked feverishly, barely keeping his amazement in check.  She had secured Sasuke both a body and a sharingan, something that he hadn’t allowed himself to hope for.  He felt a phantom pain behind his own eyes as she carved out a small hole in the statue’s eye sockets and used her chakra to gently lower his eyes into the depressions. 

There was something strangely cathartic about watching her give his eyes to Sasuke.  She worked quickly, efficiently, making minute adjustments to the positioning of Kabuto and Sasuke’s bodies and completing the chalk circle. 

Her businesslike movements reminded him of Tsunade, and he suppressed a surge of affection for her.  _There’ll be time for celebration later._   _The Hokage would be proud._

He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he didn't notice that she'd finished setting everything up.  She stood, brushing chalk dust off of her hands.  

“Sasuke, its time,” she called, holding out her arm.  Sasuke flapped off of Naruto’s shoulder, the clone disappearing in a puff of smoke.  His chakra was immediately absorbed behind her seal, bathing her face in a nimbus of energy. 

Itachi felt his stomach twist.  Whether he was feeling excitement or a mixture of fear and anticipation, he wasn't sure.  

“Once I start, I can’t stop.”  Her eyes were dark with determination, and the look that she shared with Itachi ignited a storm of emotion in his chest.  Before he could say anything, she turned away, clearing her throat as her chakra bloomed out of her hands.  She began to sign quickly, cutting a deep slash in her palm.  She drew strange runes on Sasuke’s chest, ignoring the pain. 

She then crouched down, settling herself into a comfortable position.  “Okay, here we go.”

The hum of chakra filled the forest as she took a deep breath.  As if on cue, it began to pour.  The water began to pool on the forest floor almost immediately, but Sakura didn’t seem to notice. 

Itachi felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as a blast of wind shot through the clearing.  The jutsu had been activated. 

* * *

 

Sakura’s eyes snapped open, but she couldn’t see anything.  Everything was black.  Tendrils of dark, inky blackness twined up her arms, pinning her in place.  Her gasp of surprise was cut short by a strangled groan of pain as the wisps of energy permeated her skin and entered her chakra streams. 

Physically, she felt herself working through the hand signs of the jutsu, but spiritually she was in limbo.  She could see two large orbs of light; _that has to be Sasuke and Kabuto’s chakra._

Her eyes narrowed; they weren’t willing to meld with one another.  She used her own chakra to force Kabuto’s chakra into a state that could be more easily absorbed by Sasuke’s essence. 

They were like oil and water, but she refused to give up. She pressed forwards, searching for every last shred of Kabuto's chakra.  

As soon as her chakra threads touched the darkness of the jutsu, she felt the blackness pressing in on her, squeezing the air from her lungs, siphoning all of her energy away.  It took every ounce of her control to stop the outward stream of chakra, arresting the trap of the forbidden jutsu. 

 _Orochimaru, you sick bastard.  You knew that this jutsu was practically a death sentence.  That's why you made it so easy to find_.  

She felt a flash of rage.  The jutsu was designed to require the life force of more than one person, or the energy equivalent to someone like Naruto.  The chakra requirement was so large that it was almost guaranteed to kill any shinobi who dared to use such a dangerous technique. 

Her own reserve was running dangerously low; she felt a flash of panic as she realized that the jutsu had cut her off from her seal, robbing her of her safety net. 

She was going to die if she couldn’t find a source of chakra to protect herself. 

Physically, she forced herself to murmur Itachi’s name.  She needed chakra that could help Sasuke, Naruto’s was too volatile for her to control.  She felt something pressing against her forehead, and then a sudden rush of sky blue energy lit up the darkness. 

_Itachi._

Sakura sucked in a much needed breath, basking in the protection that Itachi’s extra chakra offered. 

The air shimmered with energy, and she was finally able to focus on the chakra that hung in the air between Kabuto and Sasuke’s bodies.  She determinedly grabbed onto as much essential chakra as she could from Kabuto’s body and pulled on it with all of her might.  She felt tears streaming down her face as she worked, her guilt swimming through her veins and affecting her ability to think rationally.

She felt herself coughing, the iron tang of blood coating her tongue as a shudder of pain tore through her lungs.  She ignored it, trying to finish both the sharingan transfer and the jutsu at the same time. 

Her attention was torn, but finally she finished attaching Sasuke’s optical nerve and was able to focus on creating lungs from Kabuto’s chakra. 

The blood seal shimmered, spinning faster and faster as the chakra exchanged hosts.  There was something wrong about this jutsu, everything in her screamed for her to stop the process, to leave the natural order of nature intact. 

But she couldn’t stop what she’d started; she was in too deep to stop.  _If I cut off the jutsu, we’ll all die.  Orochimaru knew that I needed something like this; if I can’t finish it then I’ll have fallen right into the jutsu’s trap._

_Damn it!  I refuse to die like this!_

Suddenly, her world exploded with searing pain. 

* * *

 

There was a sharp crackling sound, and black tendrils rose up from the clay, stemming from Sakura's blood seal. Itachi watched in horror as dark tendrils began to trace their way up from Sasuke and Kabuto's bodies into Sakura's arms.  They snaked up her skin, binding her to the forbidden jutsu as her eyes snapped open.

They weren't green anymore.  Her irises had disappeared, her eyes shone with a bright white light.  The sight of it was unnerving.  

Itachi had never seen anything so eerie.  A frisson of unease ran up his spine, something was wrong.  The jutsu was wrong, something about it made every instinct that he had scream at him to run, to hide, to stop her.

He was moving before he realized his intentions, and Sakura's voice stopped him in his tracks.  

"Itachi, don't!"  Sakura called suddenly, her face bathed in a ghostly green glow as she siphoned Kabuto's chakra into Sasuke's body.  "I'm okay; we can't stop it once it's started." 

A thick rope of chakra swirled upwards from Kabuto's still body; Itachi had never seen so much raw chakra before.  Sakura patiently spun it into a whirlpool, directing it into Sasuke's golem.  The clay began to glow; the chakra was permeating every atom.  Suddenly, Sakura's chakra took on an angry red cast; something was happening within the jutsu that they couldn't see.  

Itachi glanced at Naruto and Kakashi, who both watched in awed silence.  Naruto looked like he was about ready to run over there and pry Sakura away from Sasuke, but a quick glance at Itachi's expression nipped that right in the bud.  

"Are we just supposed to watch?!"  He growled, every muscle in his body was tensed with nervous energy.  "What if she can't finish the jutsu?"

"I'll supplement her chakra if I need to," Itachi called, still watching Sakura intensely.  "You need to be ready to step in if I collapse.  If it's too much for you and the Nine-Tails, you have to let us go!" 

"Like hell, I'm not gonna let any of my friends die!"  He yelled, bracing himself against the fierce wind that suddenly picked up.  A flash of lightening illuminated the clearing, the pouring rain bathing everything in silver light as the sky flashed and thundered above them.  

Sakura didn't move.  She was still pushing her chakra into every cell of Sasuke's body. 

Itachi couldn't look away from the whiteness of her eyes, silently terrified that Kabuto's chakra wasn't going to be enough to spare her from the clutches of the forbidden jutsu.

The air crackled with energy, a cacophony of humming and small bolts of lightning filled the air.  She gasped suddenly, her body jerking violently as she coughed; a bright flash of blood appeared against her pale skin.  

"Itachi, Kabuto doesn't have enough chakra-" She cut off as another wave of pain wracked through her body.  

Itachi didn't waste any time. Careless of his own safety, he darted over to her and pressed his forehead to hers.  Immediately, he felt like he was drowning.  The jutsu's chakra requirement was so high that it was all he could do to stop her from draining him entirely.  

Gone was the euphoria of their usual chakra exchange, in its place was nothing but a crushing darkness, pressing in from every side.  Itachi felt a sudden flash of light pierce through the dark, and he struggled to keep his chakra under control.  Sakura suddenly stiffened, wrenching her pressure point away from his as a concussion blast of raw energy knocked him backwards.  

Her mouth opened in a wordless scream as she used all of her strength to wrench her hands from Sasuke's body.  There was another flash of lightening, and her eyes suddenly lost their white cast.  Sasuke's clay form was nothing but a bright beacon of light, and Itachi could  _feel_ the pulsating chakra within. 

He was alive. 

"Everyone needs to back up!"  She yelled hoarsely, signing quickly and desperately.  As she finished the sequence and pressed her hands to Sasuke's chest, he began to glow more fiercely, the air around her crackled and hummed with energy.  

"Release!"  

Another blast of energy threw them all off balance; Sakura was forced to take a step forwards as the concussion blast was suddenly sucked back into Sasuke's body.  She stumbled forwards, hitting the ground hard.  The impact forced her to cough again, and a bright splatter of blood marred the surface of the clay.  

She sucked in a laboured breath, and Itachi darted over to her.  Gathering her into his arms, he shot a concerned glance at Sasuke.  

For a moment, there was silence.  Then everything happened at once. 

The seal disappeared, and Sasuke made a sound. 

A sharp crack reverberated through the clearing as the golem was rent in two.  A bright white light spilled out of the cracks, forcing them to throw a hand over their eyes.  

Sasuke's eyes flew open, and he sucked in a deep, desperate breath of air.  The scarlet of his sharingan bloomed over his dark irises.  

He was alive. 


	33. Skeleton Key

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team seven rejoices at Sasuke's return, but it raises some questions that Itachi isn't ready to answer. Tsunade remembers something that Orochimaru wanted her to forget. Sasuke confronts Sakura, leaving her reeling.

Tsunade’s eyes snapped open and she felt the hair on the back of her neck stand straight up.  She sat up abruptly, turning her head to look out the window at the darkness outside.  Rain began to pelt down from the stormy black sky; silver sheets of water bathed everything in an eerie glow. 

She watched silently as lightening flashed, stamping black patches across her eyes from the blinding brightness.  She felt her stomach turning anxiously.  Her blankets lay forgotten as she eased out of her bed, thinking hard. 

She never ignored her instincts. 

Something was very wrong.  Dark chakra hung in the air like a miasma, seeping through the rain like a cancer.  She forced herself to calm, it wouldn’t help anything if she allowed herself to panic. 

_Sakura has activated Orochimaru's jutsu; I know this feeling, it’s familiar.  She and Itachi moved faster than I expected.  I hope Kakashi got there in time to help._

She stood, striding over to her wardrobe and dressing quickly.  To her surprise, the chakra flare had already died down by the time that she finished.  Instinctively, she knew that she would have felt it if Sakura had succumbed to the jutsu; they were connected by more than the bonds of friendship.  She let out a sigh of relief, her hand straying unconsciously to her seal. 

That’s one less thing to worry about.  _Fugaku isn’t a threat anymore, Sasuke is back, and Kakashi is more than capable of acting as Hokage for now._  

But something was bothering her, something still didn’t make sense. 

_I need to know why Orochimaru wants Konoha so badly.  I understand wanting Naruto’s power and a sharingan, but why Konoha?  He's already proven that he can get close to them outside of the village.  There's something that I'm missing._

Suddenly she had a chilling thought.  She crossed her arms and began to silently pace, her brain working rapidly to analyze her idea.  She felt a competing mixture of emotions, most of which centered on revulsion and fear.  She mentally berated herself for not thinking of this before, but it was a memory that she’d worked hard to supress. 

She could never un-see the devastation of Orochimaru’s experiments more than two decades ago.  But there was one thing that she knew she had to investigate, for all of their sakes. 

_I promised that I would never set foot in that place again, but I need to know._

_If I’m right, it could explain everything.  Why Orochimaru is willing to do anything and risk all that he’s built._

Tsunade threw her bedroom door open, stalking through the entrance way to her temporary apartment and moved to open the front door.  She huffed in annoyance; she'd forgotten about Kakashi's ANBU squad camped outside the door in the hallway. 

Making a quick decision, she quickly signed a complex genjutsu to camouflage her impending jailbreak and returned to her bedroom.  She eased the window open, rolling her eyes at her sneaky behavior.  _I'm acting like a damn teenager.  This had better be good; I'm breaking my own "no windows" rule for this._

She tapped down outside the window, her eyes searching for any sign of a sentry.  There was no one watching her window, the ANBU team knew better than to post someone on the rooftops, she was likely to punch through the walls if she heard footsteps above.  She may have been under their protection, but the elite team could relax a little.  She was a Sannin after all.  

Her footsteps barely made a sound as she darted through the darkened streets of the village, keeping a close eye out for anyone who was likely to question her.  Tsunade cloaked her chakra signature, slipping into the inky blackness of an alleyway as several police teams walked past, doing their nightly rounds.  She listened closely to their conversation, breathing a silent sigh of relief; no one mentioned Fugaku.  His absence hadn’t been missed. 

_Hm, I guess he used to leave the village without anyone noticing all the time.  Shikamaru should have plugged up those security gaps.  No one goes in or out now without us noticing.  Kakashi will make good use of that._

She was forced to press herself into the shadows of a large oak as a councilmember ambled past, his reedy voice grating on her nerves as he ordered his security team to keep a sharp eye out in the rain.  Tsunade couldn’t help her sudden frustration as she waited for them to pass; she was getting soaked. 

 _I feel like a fugitive in my own damn home_ , she thought grumpily, slipping through a hidden causeway between two houses.   

She made her way to the southern edge of the village, knocking quietly on a hidden door.  A tiny peephole opened up, barely bigger than a thumbtack, and she gave the sentry an exasperated look. 

"What's the password?"  Gai demanded in a stage whisper.  She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and settled for a glare.  

"Seriously, Gai? Open the damn door, you know my chakra." 

"Yes, ma'am," he responded sheepishly, a little more quietly.  She strode past him as the door opened, making for the dining room of the safe house.  Just as she'd suspected, Neji sat quietly with Fugaku, his byakugan analyzing the Uchiha's chakra streams. 

"Gentlemen," she said firmly, settling herself into a chair.  "I have some questions for Fugaku, if you don't mind, Neji." 

"Yes, Hokage-sama-" Neji started to rise, but was interrupted by Fugaku's quiet refusal. 

"Tsunade, I have no issue with Neji-san staying.  He has been very helpful to me," he murmured, inclining his head slightly as Tsunade turned her attention to him.  "He's been able to stop some of the chakra flow to the jutsu, I'm able to think relatively clearly now."  

“You’re not going to like what I’m about to ask you.”

“We’ve been at each other’s throats for years, I doubt that it could be worse than that,” he said easily, his expression perfectly neutral.  Tsunade may once have felt dislike or even hatred for him, but now she found herself to be apathetic. 

 _Whatever helps us to get through this,_ she thought firmly, steeling herself for what she was about to say. 

"Fine.  What I need to know, is if Orochimaru wanted the Hebi Key from the village when he attacked seven years ago.  I need to know everything about your deal with him." 

"What?"  Fugaku's eyes widened and a frown line appeared between his brows.  "I don't know, why would he want the key to the archives vault?" 

“Did you promise to give it to him?”  Her eyes hardened, and to his credit, he didn’t flinch. 

“No.”  The finality of his tone did nothing to ease the knot of worry that had taken root in her belly. “Our understanding was to get rid of Sarutobi.  I didn’t know that he was in possession of the key.”

Tsunade took a deep breath, letting it out slowly in a vain attempt to slow her heartbeat and calm down.  “He didn’t have it with him when he died.  I have a copy, and Jiraya had the other one.  It wasn’t found with his possessions.  I don’t know where the original is.” 

“Tsunade-sama, what’s this about?”  Neji asked evenly, his expression gave away nothing of his thoughts.  She tapped her finger on the table, finally coming to the conclusion that it would be easier to be honest about her suspicions. 

Tsunade sighed deeply, resting her elbows on the great wooden table.  "There is another structure underneath the vault.  It wasn’t affected by the fire." 

Neji nodded silently, his mind piecing together the puzzle as quickly as Sakura would have.  "Orochimaru had a lab, didn't he?  Isn't that why he disappeared in the first place?" 

"One of the reasons," Tsunade admitted, steepling her fingers as she surveyed Fugaku.  "What we found down there was enough to convict him of treason and murder.  I have reason to suspect that he's presently running similar experiments on his test subjects in his current base.  But the key, that's the important part that I've been missing." 

“Is there something down there that we should be worried about, Fugaku?”  Neji’s expression hardened and he watched Fugaku out of the corner of his eye, silently asking if there was something that Fugaku wanted to come clean about.

“I have no idea; don’t disrespect me by asking me that.  I told you that I don’t know,” Fugaku snapped, glaring at the younger man.  Tsunade felt a flash of affection for Neji, and she wasted no time coming to his defense. 

“You can’t expect us to fully trust you,” she said firmly, raising an eyebrow and fixing him with a glare.  “You’re still earning that.  He’s asking what we all want to know.” 

“I didn’t know about the location of the lab.  If he left something down there it makes more sense that he’d be returning for it.  Perhaps that’s why he left Konoha intact last time, I was under the impression that he wanted to wait for me to undermine the political environment of the village.  But I was wrong about a lot of things, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility.”

Fugaku’s steely expression softened as he sighed, the lines on his face making him look exhausted.  With the jutsu’s progression, he was looking more and more unwell with each passing day.  He didn’t have much time left. 

“He failed at something, of that I’m sure,” Tsunade replied absentmindedly, her expression far away as she wracked her brain for any useful memories.  “If he was in a position to take whatever he was after he would have done it without hesitation.  I know him, he doesn’t give up easily.”

Fugaku moved to stand, ignoring Neji's silent offer of assistance as he used his cane to climb laboriously to his feet.  "We need to know if his aim wasn’t just to kill Sarutobi.  I didn't know that he had any other motive than to assassinate the Third.”

“What are the chances of that?”  Neji asked soberly, his expression giving nothing away. 

“It’s likely,” Tsunade said tiredly.

“I should have known that I was being used," Fugaku said bitterly, the set of his jaw conveying his frustration.  

"You can deal with that later," Tsunade said sharply, her heartbeat accelerating as she thought about what she'd found in the lab when she'd raided it all of those years ago. 

"I have a hunch that there's something there that he wants, badly.  He wouldn't be so reckless as to go after the Uchiha, the Nine-Tails, and me without a good reason.  He's too conniving to leave anything up to chance." 

"I agree, Hokage-sama," Neju mused, standing up and crossing his arms in thought.  "I will question the steward again; maybe he knows something about it." 

"He's disclosed nothing else?" 

"No, only that he's marked.  Orochimaru promised him power if he served him until he decided to take the village.  He was a pawn, a spy.  Nothing more, it seems." 

"Hm, and Raiton?  He's not coming forwards with any new information either?" 

"No.  From what we've gathered, he was meant to be Orochimaru's way into the village to take Fugaku, with the steward as backup.  Now that they've been removed from his spy network, I'm not sure how he means to get in." 

"His lab, Neji,"  Tsunade said darkly, her eyes taking on a haunted cast.  "There was an entrance to the west of the village, hidden in a cave.  It's protected by a powerful genjutsu; he'd most likely need a sharingan to get in.  Your father was the one to seal it in the first place," she added, looking pointedly at Fugaku.

"The lab has several connected tunnels that run under the village, he used them to get around and smuggle his research projects in and out.  If he's got a copy of the key, and a sharingan, he can get in without any internal help." 

"Can we destroy the entrance and the lab?"  Fugaku asked suddenly, his eyes narrowing.  "If we cut off his access to whatever he wants, then surely-" 

"No, that won’t be enough!"  Tsunade snapped, her anxiety getting the best of her.  "He hasn't let anything that we've put in place so far stop him.  He's willing to attack our village for it.  Come with me, we're going to take a look for ourselves.  Neji, I need you to get a message to Gaara, find out if he remembers why the Akatsuki went after him." 

Without waiting for his reply, she swept from the room.  

_If we find what I think is down there, I know exactly what his plan is.   He's had one goal in mind, ever since the incident._

* * *

 

Sasuke's chest rose and fell with frantic breaths, and he quickly moved to sit up.  The sound of shattering clay echoed off the trees as more of his body was freed.  Itachi didn't miss the flash of panic that flooded over Sasuke's expression as he found himself unable to move; the whites of his eyes were startling against the darkness of the clay. 

Sakura's eyes fluttered open, and she motioned weakly for Itachi to help her to sit up.  He eased forwards, watching intently as her face lit up with the healing glow of her chakra.  "Itachi, the jutsu-"

"What do you need?"

"Get me closer to Sasuke-"

She cut off as her chakra glow receded, replaced by the sound of Sasuke fighting against the clay prison.  The arms and legs were still fused together, and he didn't have enough strength yet to break out by himself. 

Itachi shot a glance at Kakashi and Naruto, who stood ready to step in.  He shook his head slightly, indicating silently that they weren't needed yet, but to be prepared.  He scooped Sakura up in his arms, gently setting her down beside Sasuke’s frantically thrashing form.  

"Sasuke!" Sakura pleaded, her hands glowing with her flickering chakra.  "Hold on!  Let me help!"

Itachi unwound his arms from around her, his attention completely focused on Sasuke.  His elation that Sasuke was alive was almost enough to override his concern for Sakura; he could see that she was running on fumes.  Shakily, she moved closer to Sasuke, her muscles standing out in contrast to her pale skin as she pitted her strength against the chakra-infused earth.  

It wasn't a surprise to anyone that she won.  The sound of the clay breastplate cracking echoed through the forest as she pried it away from Sasuke, freeing his ability to breathe properly as the earth encasing his throat and stomach lifted away.  

Itachi knew that she was going to collapse as soon as the adrenaline ebbed away from her veins, so he watched closely for any sign of dangerous fatigue.  She sat back on her haunches, her chakra illuminating a nimbus around her.  Itachi could see it flickering; she didn't have enough energy left to control it as she usually would.  

 _The jutsu would have been a death sentence if we weren't together_ ; he thought angrily, his pulse spiking.  

Forcing himself to calm, he turned his attention back to Sakura, tensed to help her if she needed it.  Sakura twisted her wrists, forcing her energy through tiny cracks in the clay.  Sasuke continued to suck in deep breaths as he was very slowly freed from the clay prison.  Naruto helped, straining to lift large pieces of clay away; it was as unyielding as iron. 

The clay began to flake off of the golem as they worked, shattering onto the ground below.  Pale skin was revealed by the cracks in the statue as Sasuke finally managed to sit up.  He inspected his hands, his face slowly being revealed as the thin layer of clay slid off his cheeks.  His expression broke into a rare grin, and Itachi felt something in his chest constrict.  

He had never seen Sasuke this happy.  

Sakura reached out with shaking hands, grabbing Sasuke's hands in her own.  "Sasuke, it worked!" 

"It did," he murmured, the sharingan flooding away from his dark eyes.  The tone of his voice was warm and so filled with excitement that he almost didn't sound like himself.  "My sharingan worked."

Sakura let out a sudden laugh, the sound was so filled with joy that Itachi felt a warm smile turning up the corners of his own mouth.   _It worked.  She did it._

_His eyes work.  My eyes worked._

He was struck with the odd realization that he had stopped thinking of his own eyes as such; they belonged to Sasuke.  He wondered when he had started to consider Sasuke's to be his own, it was almost eerie the way that they had accepted their new normal.  

Standing abruptly, he turned away and moved to his abandoned travel pack.  He fished out some of his own clothing (black, of course), having thought ahead.  The corner of his mouth ticked up as he considered the inky fabric.  It hadn't occurred to him that Sasuke might have wanted to wear something less somber.  

_We're more alike than than he's willing to admit, they'll do for now._

He walked over to where Sasuke was stubbornly refusing to stand, anticipating that his brother was going to want some clothing sooner rather than later.  Sakura was in full medic mode, demanding that he allow her to finish a proper examination, even though her voice was rough with exhaustion.  Without thinking, he also swept off his travelling cloak, offering it to Sasuke.  

"Perhaps that can wait a moment, Sakura.  Unless you didn't get enough of a look at him earlier," he murmured, fighting hard to keep a sly grin at bay.  

"Pants!  Yeah, that's great, super good idea...g-great!"  Sakura stammered, standing abruptly and spinning around, her blush bright enough to match her shirt.  "I'm good, I got an  _eyeful_ earlier!"

The last part was muttered in a mortified whisper, and upon hearing that, Itachi couldn't keep his expression neutral any longer.  Eyes glittering with amusement, he turned his attention back to Sasuke.  

The younger Uchiha watched him for a second, an unreadable look in his eye.  Just as Itachi started to wonder if it was a good idea, that it was too much too fast, he slowly reached out and took the offered clothing, swinging the cloak around his shoulders as he awkwardly shrugged into the shirt and pants. 

Watching Sasuke struggle to do anything was clearly very funny to Naruto, who shattered the sudden quiet of the forest with a loud guffaw.  

Itachi caught Sakura's eye; she was determinedly looking the other way as Sasuke fastened the cloak, a bright blush still colouring her cheeks.  He couldn't help his smirk; he was endlessly entertained by how innocent she could be.  

Naruto was dancing around; excitedly yammering at his friends as Sasuke slowly clambered to his feet.  He was miming; it looked like he was waxing poetic about the battles to come.  Naruto immediately slapped Sasuke hard on the back, making him stumble.  Sakura’s exclamation of frustration was eclipsed by the murderous look that Sasuke threw him, but Naruto couldn’t have cared less. 

"Aw yeah, team seven is baaaaaaaaaack!"  He sang, pumping his fist into the air.  "Orochimaru isn't gonna know what hit him!"

Sakura was speaking intently to Sasuke, immediately checking his vitals, waving a chakra-lit hand in front of his eyes.  She looked happier than she had in months. 

Happier than he'd ever seen her, actually.  

A bright blush coloured Sasuke's cheeks as he took stock of his body.  Itachi watched the way that his eyes flicked downwards, and let out a quiet chuckle as a knowing grin slid across Sasuke's face.  His gaze flickered over to Sakura, who, despite the fiasco of the forbidden jutsu, looked radiant in the early dawn light. 

Itachi hadn’t even noticed that the rain had stopped. 

Sakura didn't seem to notice Sasuke's reaction, she was too busy checking his pulse, listening to his heartbeat, and feeding extra chakra into his body to help with the last of the clay shell.  Sasuke moved his arms around, testing his mobility. 

To Sakura's dismay, he hopped up and down a few times.  Kakashi coughed suddenly, attempting to cover up a snicker as Sasuke's eyebrows suddenly shot up into his hair and his eyes widened slightly as he stared downwards.    

Sakura waved her finger at him, chastising him for moving around too quickly.  Itachi walked away to lean his shoulder casually against a nearby tree, content that Sakura was out of danger.  It was a moment between the teammates that he didn't want to interrupt.  

But he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was just an onlooker, and that wasn’t something that sat well with him.  Always a glutton for punishment, he couldn’t look away. 

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder, murmuring something to Naruto that made the blond shinobi's mouth flap open in shock.  Sakura laughed again, a blush rising in her own cheeks as she listened to what he was saying.   Itachi almost rolled his eyes; Naruto and Sasuke were never going to get over their rivalry.  

 _Better him than me,_ he thought drily.  

Naruto, without any warning, grabbed Sasuke, bending him into a wrestling hold as he deliberately ruffled Sasuke's hair.  Sasuke quickly slipped free, scowling.  

Sakura let out a surprised peal of laughter, his hair was sticking up in every direction.  He looked like a disgruntled chicken.  Kakashi coughed again, unsuccessfully trying to smother his chuckle.    

"Naruto!"  Sasuke's growl was clearly audible across the clearing. 

Itachi felt a smile turning up the corners of his mouth again; watching the four of them interact was just as entertaining as he'd expected it to be. After all, they'd been teammates for years, and it was obvious by the way that their laughter flowed and insults were exchanged that they were a ragtag family of sorts.  

Not for the first time, he wished that he knew what that was like.  Teammates weren't usually around for too long in ANBU, it was difficult to make friends or even acquaintances when you didn't even know each other's real names. 

But Itachi, he stuck out like a sore thumb, the sharingan made it too easy to avoid him.  When you could copy anyone's jutsu, secret identities didn't stay secret for long.  Rumours, case reports, watching any kind of shinobi training, it was simple to find out who people were.  

The ANBU administration strongly discouraged that. So, solo work was an easy way to maintain the status quo.  

He preferred to work alone, but that didn't mean that he enjoyed the constant solitude.  

"You're alive!  He can mess up your hair, all because of me!"  Sakura danced on the spot, too proud of herself to care about the dark look that Sasuke threw her.  "Your fabulous hair can take it-"

She suddenly cut off with a squeak.  Sasuke had thrown his arms around her and buried his face into her shoulder.  Her arms wrapped around him hesitantly, but there must have been something in the vulnerability that Sasuke was showing that made her hold onto him just as tightly.  

_Hm._

Naruto wrapped his arms around the both of them and continued to bounce excitedly.  Sakura was crying happy tears, and Naruto looked about ready to burst from glee.  Sasuke actually laughed, his eyes shining with emotion.   Itachi watched as they continued to talk excitedly, and Sakura wiped a smear of mud from Sasuke's forehead with her travelling cloak. 

To Itachi’s surprise, Sasuke allowed her to fuss over him. 

Itachi suddenly felt like he was intruding on something private, but he couldn't look away.  

Itachi didn't miss the flash of intensity that flickered through Sasuke's expression as he regarded her.   Sakura was beaming up at him, her green eyes still filled with tears.  She gestured at him and said something to him, too quiet for Itachi to hear.  Her cheeky grin and whispered joke made a slow smirk spread across Sasuke's mouth.   

He felt a pang of something that felt suspiciously like jealousy.   Itachi stood abruptly, and turned on his heel to leave.   He needed a moment alone to collect his thoughts; now wasn't the time to interfere with the long awaited reunion of Team Seven.  

He needed some space, urgently.  To think, to ponder, to wallow.  He was overjoyed that Sasuke was alive, but his guilt still felt like an open wound that refused to heal. He felt himself descending into a dark mood; he wasn't in the mood to fight it. 

He strode towards Kabuto’s still form, intending to quietly dispose of the body.  He didn’t want Sakura to have to deal with it; he knew that it would cause her pain. She was likely to grieve the death of this man who would have sold them out to Orochimaru as easily as drawing breath, no matter what he’d done; he couldn’t begrudge her for being compassionate. 

_His death wasn’t in vain, Sakura made sure of that._

 Kneeling down, his eyes raked over Kabuto’s face; his thoughts were focused on Kabuto’s last words.  _He was willing to betray Orochimaru.  Perhaps he could have been an ally to us._

Closing his eyes briefly, Itachi silently thanked Kabuto.  He didn’t waste any time, quickly sealing the body back into the scroll that had held Sasuke’s statue.  Right before the seal took effect, he found his eyes drawn to the peaceful expression on Kabuto’s face.  Sakura had managed to heal him enough that his injuries hadn’t marred his face; he could have been sleeping. 

Itachi couldn’t shake the sudden pang of guilt that assaulted him.  But it wasn’t about Kabuto, it was about Sakura.  He felt a flash of anger towards Kabuto, whose chakra reserves hadn’t been enough to revive Sasuke.  It wasn’t any fault of Kabuto’s; they couldn’t have known that the jutsu required so much energy.   But knowing that still didn’t ease the anger that flooded through him, affecting his ability to stay rational. 

He hated it when anything was out of his control, especially when it came to those that he loved. 

_Sakura almost died trying to fix my mistakes.  I nearly lost her and Sasuke, again._

His dark thoughts were interrupted by Kakashi's quiet footsteps.  It was almost like Kakashi understood what was running through his mind; the look in his eye was sympathetic. 

"Itachi, can I have a word?"  Kakashi asked quietly, inclining his head towards the river.   Itachi nodded, silently grateful for the excuse to leave gracefully.  He followed the Copy Ninja towards the water.  Behind them, the celebration of Team Seven continued to echo against the trees.

"Kakashi-sam-" Itachi began, cutting off as Kakashi waved a hand at him, the visible portion of his face sheepish.  

"There's no need for that.  I need to tell you something that I think might change things a bit."

Itachi raised an eyebrow in surprise, and then inclined his head for Kakashi to continue.  

"Itachi, Tsunade isn't the Hokage anymore, not as of tomorrow morning." 

"We heard."  Itachi crossed his arms, his brow furrowing.  "What happened, was it my father?" 

"Yes and no," Kakashi sighed, running a hand through his shaggy hair.  "The council feels that with everything that's happened, you and Sakura leaving the village, the archives burning down, and Fugaku's illness-"

"Illness?  What the hell are you talking about?"  Itachi felt a bolt of confusion shoot through him, ice winding its way through his veins.  His expression didn't give anything away, but he was suddenly bursting with questions.  

"Orochimaru.  He's been poisoning your father for almost two decades.  He's preparing to-"

"To take him as a host.  Sakura figured that part out," Itachi said quietly, reeling from the confirmation of his suspicions.  "How much time does he have?" 

"A few weeks at most.  He delegated his authority to Tsunade on the council, but the old biddies think that she's lost too much control.   You know the rest."

Itachi wasn't happy at the news.  He glanced over to where Sakura stood, knowing that she wasn't going to take the confirmation well; Tsunade couldn't protect them if she wasn't in power.  "So who's officially taking her place? From what I’ve heard, it’s you." 

"Well that's a complicated question," Kakashi replied sheepishly, avoiding Itachi’s direct gaze.  "It's supposed to be me, but I don't know if I'm the right choice."

Itachi chuckled darkly, his tone deepening.  He was annoyed.  "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're going to get us all killed if you don't take it.  If Tsunade-sama can't keep the wolves at bay, you're the next best thing."

Kakashi looked at him sharply, his visible eye narrowing.  "I've thought it all out, thanks."

"So why are you looking for any excuse to avoid it?" 

Kakashi sighed, his shoulders slumped downwards.  "Because that much authority is exhausting.  If Naruto was ready, I would suggest that he take up the mantle-"

"But he isn't.  So what's your plan?"  Itachi asked bluntly.  "We don't have any time to lose.  Take it, for all of our sakes.  We're going to need Konoha to muster as much manpower as possible." 

"Tsunade-sama can keep training Naruto, we'll be ready." 

"It's going to be a matter of days.  Prepare for anything."  

"What's your exit strategy with Orochimaru?"  Kakashi leaned his shoulder on a nearby tree, ducking his head slightly to survey Itachi with curiosity. 

"We're going to blow up his hideout."  Itachi said casually, nodding slyly at the amused crinkling of Kakashi's visible eye.  "Hopefully he goes with it, but he's too clever.  It would be too easy."

"Out with a bang, huh?  I like it.  So you're going to lead Orochimaru right to us."

"Ideally, yes.  There are a few things that we need to clean up first," he replied, inclining his head towards Sakura.  "We've got to get the prisoners out of there.  Can you arrange safe passage for one hundred and thirty four refugees?" 

Kakashi let out his breath in a whoosh, clearly thinking hard.  "I can.  I need a good reason though; it's going to look weird if they just show up."

"There's a village on the way out to Wind country that's a staging area for Orochimaru's henchmen, flush it out with Suna's ANBU and then it'll make sense that they show up."

"Are you sure that you don't want to be Hokage for a bit?"  Kakashi said entreatingly, his tone light.  Itachi knew that he wasn't joking. 

"They're not too keen on traitors in power, but thanks," he said drily, running a hand through his hair in thought.  His gaze unconsciously flickered to where Sakura was standing with Sasuke and Naruto.  "I'm not the right person for the job."  

He trailed off, his dark eyes watching Sakura.  Her laughter flowed easily, and she was talking animatedly.  Once again, something constricted in his chest.  

"Sakura's not going to choose Sasuke, you can relax," Kakashi murmured, chuckling softly as he walked back towards the clearing where Naruto was still yelling excitedly. 

Taken aback, he felt a surge of annoyance towards the Copy Ninja.  Itachi couldn't help his frustration, it bubbled close to the surface.   He watched Kakashi saunter away, trying to calm his emotions. 

He’d been ignoring his darkest thoughts for too long.  But with Sasuke back, he was forced to confront them. 

_I never asked Sasuke about his feelings for Sakura.  She doesn't think that what my father said was the truth, but it could be.  If so, then Sasuke would have another reason to hate me._

He was even more perturbed by the fact that he hadn't considered Sakura's feelings on the matter at all.  She'd become so ingrained in his life that he hadn't even thought about the possibility that he could lose her.   Watching her with Sasuke introduced him to some very uncomfortable questions, none of which he wanted to address.  

He was irritated by the fact that he’d been so transparent with his emotions that Kakashi could interpret them.  He didn’t like that one bit. 

Disquieted by his thoughts, he barely noticed Sakura’s approach.  

"Itachi, are you okay..?" 

He decided to bury his feelings on the matter.  Arranging his features into an expression of neutrality, he turned to face her.  "I'm fine. I'm more concerned about you."

She bit her lip, her eyes raking over his face.  With her elation spent, he could see the dark circles under her eyes clear as day; she was exhausted. "I'm okay, thanks to you."

She stepped forward, nervously twining her fingers together.  Without thinking, he embraced her, relaxing slightly as her arms wrapped around him. 

"I thought I was going to lose you," he murmured softly, fully aware of the double meaning of his words.  

"But you didn't.  You saved my life, again," she laughed quietly, her voice trembling.  "We're okay, everything is okay."

“Ah, it is."

“I need to deal with Kabuto-“

“I already did.  You don’t have to do anything else,” he murmured, carding his hands through her hair as she finally relaxed into his arms. 

He could feel her shaking, and he stood there with his arms around her for a moment before he spoke.  Her exhaustion had finally overcome her composure; she needed to mourn Kabuto’s death, regardless of the fact that he’d fully intended to kill them.  Her sorrow was palpable, and it was enough to move even him. 

She finally sighed, turning slightly so that he couldn’t see her face.  “I’m sorry, I don’t know why I’m so weepy-“

“Don’t apologize.” 

He drew back slowly, gently wiping away the tears that once more streamed down her cheeks.  "Kabuto was dead anyway.  Something good came out of this, and that's all thanks to you."

She stared at him for a moment, her eyes widening, before she relaxed, letting out a small groan of frustration.  "How do you always know what I'm thinking about?" 

"Practice," he replied easily, the tight knot in his chest unraveling slightly as she hopped up on her tiptoes and kissed him.  Pulling away reluctantly, he rested his forehead against hers.  “You’re running low on chakra, are you sure that you’re alright?”

She shook her head, leaning against him.  “I feel like I could sleep for days.”

“If that’s what you need.  You should have told me that you didn’t have enough chakra.”

“I didn’t know,” she said quietly, her voice muffled by his shirt.  “The jutsu is a trap.  There was supposed to be an essential chakra exchange, it’s like physics.  Energy into a body requires the energy out of another, but this was designed to need more chakra than the average person could handle.”

Itachi bit back an angry comment.  “You were already running lower than usual after healing Kabuto earlier.  You should have said something.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“I know you don’t like the idea of using your seal, but-“

She raised her head suddenly to look at him, and he felt a chill at the haunted look in her eyes.  “I couldn’t access it; the jutsu took over all of my chakra streams.  I don’t know if Orochimaru knew that we were looking for something to use for Sasuke, but either way it’s too dangerous to let out.  I can’t use my seal unless it’s absolutely necessary anyways-“

“Don’t tell me that you didn’t think that your _life_ was important-” he began in a heated whisper, darting a glance at her teammates who were talking intensely thirty feet away. 

“Uchiha, just cool it for a second!”

“Haruno, you’re blurring the line-“ 

“You don’t understand, Itachi.  The seal will shorten my life span if I release it,” she interrupted, her eyes beseeching him to understand.  “I can’t do it unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

She shrugged helplessly, tiredly passing her hand over her eyes.  He watched her silently as she blinked hard, whether it was to banish tears or to ease the ache that she was feeling from the sharingan, he wasn’t sure. 

“I don’t know.  It’s a big secret; Tsunade-sama was worried that if that the information got out then it would be too easy to force us to use all of our chakra and release the seal to save ourselves.” 

“We could use fewer secrets,” he finally said gently, tapping her forehead.  “Do you want to go back now, or rest somewhere along the way for a couple of days?”

She sighed, glancing over at Sasuke.  “I want to give it a bit of time before we head back.  Sasuke, as much as I hate to say it, should be in fighting form.  I don’t know how Orochimaru’s going to take his return.”

Itachi’s expression darkened and the deep, dangerous anger flickering inside him flared back to life.  “He’ll be thrilled.  Now he has access to two sharingans.”

She nodded, stepping away from him.  “What did you and Kakashi-sensei talk about?”

“He doesn’t want to be Hokage,” Itachi shrugged, forcing his expression to one of neutrality.  “I suggested that we send the prisoners to that village that you told me about.  Suna’s ANBU will flush it out, and the new refugees will come to Konoha under their protection.”

She stared at him for a minute, not saying anything.  Just as he was about to speak, her mouth split into a sly smirk.  “That’ll work.  Should I write a missive to Gaara?”

“It couldn’t hurt.” 

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but then shut it, looking curiously over Itachi’s shoulder.  “It looks like someone wants to talk to you.” 

“Hm?”

Itachi followed her gaze, his eyes widening slightly as he took in the sight of Naruto, standing rather awkwardly a few feet away. 

“I’ll give you two a moment,” Sakura murmured, giving Itachi a meaningful look as she made her way back to where Kakashi was standing.  “I’ll write that message to Gaara.”

Curious, despite his misgivings about Naruto, Itachi turned, giving Sakura’s friend his full attention. 

“Uzumaki..?”

Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets, sheepishly looking anywhere but directly at Itachi.  "I, uh, guess I owe you an apology," he finally muttered, scuffing his toe in the dirt.  "I was wrong to be a dick, before."

_Ah, so that’s why he wanted to talk._

Itachi was touched, although he didn't allow his expression to reveal it.  "That's not necessary, Naruto.  None of us knew-."

"Yeah, but-" Naruto's head popped up, and the look in his intense blue eyes gave Itachi pause. "-but Sasuke's back now, so I guess what I'm saying, is that I was wrong about you."

"Thanks," Itachi murmured quietly, suddenly finding it difficult to speak.  He chalked it up to exhaustion; he wasn't about to start gushing about his feelings.  But still, Naruto's acceptance didn't come lightly.  

"So yeah, and you'd better not hurt Sakura, or we're gonna have a real problem!"  Naruto blurted out, a flush settling over his face as he struggled to maintain his cool-guy demeanor.  "If she doesn't kill you first, then one of us will-"

"Noted."

"Ah. Yeah, okay, good."  

Naruto nodded solemnly, a newfound respect for Itachi openly visible on his expressive face.  He turned and walked slowly back to Sasuke, leaving Itachi alone with his thoughts once again.   _Hm._

"Wow, you guys must have had a heart to heart," Sakura said drily, sidling up to him after Naruto was out of sight. "Are you and Sasuke going to fight over who gets to be his best friend?"

"More or less," he replied, still looking towards where Naruto had disappeared.  "I wouldn't say that we're friends, but it's a start."

"Hey, are you sure you're okay?" 

Itachi turned his attention back to her, taking in the sight of the dark circles under her eyes and how pale she was.  "Yes.  You're not."

Her shoulders slumped downwards, and she nodded. She swayed slightly on her feet; it was only sheer force of will that kept her upright at this point.  Itachi considered transferring more chakra to her, but he was running lower than was safe due to the requirements of the forbidden jutsu.  She needed rest.  

He knew that she was in bad shape when she didn't protest as he swept her up in his arms. "Itachi, we should-"

"You're going to rest before we do anything.” 

"Fine," she sighed, resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes. "Naruto and Kakashi-sensei-" 

"Will head back to Konoha, as soon as possible." 

"And Sasuke?" 

His stride faltered, but he quickly recovered and continued back to the clearing where the other three shinobi were gathered.  "That's his choice.  It's up to him." 

"He shouldn't go back." 

"I know, but it's not our decision." 

She sighed again, fighting against an enormous yawn.  Once again, Itachi felt fiercely protective of her.   _I should have known how much chakra she'd already used up.  I got careless.  That can't happen again._

Itachi strode into the clearing, shaking his head at Naruto's surprised exclamation.  "She's okay, just exhausted.  We're going to find a place to rest for a few days." 

"Good," Kakashi replied, his visible eye scrutinizing Sakura's condition.  "You look like I do when I use my sharingan too long.  When did you use it?"   

Sakura flinched, staring at her teacher with an unreadable look in her eye.  "Last night."

"So the rumor was true," Kakashi said thoughtfully, watching her closely.  "I thought I saw blood in your eye when you showed up.  Can you still use it?"

"No,"  Sasuke replied, his expression leaving no room for doubt.  "It was my chakra that let her use it; now that it's gone she can't access it." 

"Yeah."   Sakura's tone was bright, but Itachi knew her well enough to know that she was working hard to cover up a slight hint of disappointment.  "It's better that I can't, I can't suffer any side effects that way."   

"Any further side effects," Itachi corrected quietly, ignoring her small huff of annoyance.  

Itachi and Sasuke made eye contact, silently communicating.  Sasuke nodded slightly, almost imperceptibly.  "Kakashi-sensei, it might work to our advantage if you don't dissuade the rumors that she has one.  Three sharingans could be enough to stop our father." 

"Uh, yeah, about that-"  Kakashi started, darting a hooded glance at Itachi.  "Your father isn't running anything anymore.  He's dying." 

Sasuke didn't say anything, but his eyes darkened, turning to an impossible shade of inky black. 

"He's sick.  Mentally,"  Naruto supplied helpfully, crossing his arms and pursing his lips.  "Orochimaru wants him as a host so he made him go crazy." 

Sakura's eyes (she'd almost fallen asleep) snapped open and she stared at him, motioning for Itachi to put her down.  He obliged, although he stayed close in case she was about to fall.  

"Since when?" 

"About a week.  He's in a safe house.  He can't do anything, so he's agreed to help us."  

Sakura and Sasuke both looked murderous, and Itachi had to admit that what he was feeling wasn't far off.  

"Is he the reason why Tsunade-sama isn't Hokage anymore?!"  Sakura demanded, her fury giving her the energy that she needed to gesture angrily.  

"Not exactly," Kakashi began, scratching his head. "It was the council that voted.  Your dad doesn't have the power to pull anything like this off anymore."  

“So everything that we’ve been planning has been for nothing?”  Sakura’s voice became dangerously quiet, and her expression hardened.  “After everything, you’re just going to kiss and make up? After everything he’s done and the lives he’s ruined.”

“Absolutely not.”  For the first time, Kakashi’s tone was cold, and the look he gave Sakura was enough to make her wilt slightly.  “He’s dying, and we hold the fate of the Uchiha clan in our hands.  He’s making nice because he has no choice.”

She didn’t say anything, but she didn’t need to.  Sasuke’s stormy expression was enough to convey his anger.  A muscle in his jaw worked furiously. 

Finally he spoke.  “Don’t let him die just yet.  We have unfinished business, I want to kill him myself.”

Itachi had to agree. 

Kakashi’s expression was unreadable, and Itachi wondered (not for the first time) what lay underneath the mask.  “You have every right to feel that way, Sasuke.”

“Kakashi-sensei, there’s nothing that you could do to stop me,” he said shortly, striding across the clearing.  Itachi’s cloak billowed out around him as he turned to survey them, his irritation clearly written on his face.  “We should leave.  Get yourselves back to Konoha before anyone starts to wonder where you’ve gone.”

“Don’t get yourself killed again.”  Naruto’s expression was jovial, but his voice caught slightly as he watched his teammates.  “We didn’t go through all of this hard work for nothing.”

Sakura laughed softly, leaning against Itachi for support.  “Itachi and I did most of the work.”

“Sasuke’s right.”  Itachi put his arm around Sakura, solemnly surveying Kakashi and Naruto. “We should get going.  I’ll find a place to rest for a few days.  We’ll send a message if anything happens.”

“Take care of yourselves.”  Kakashi’s tone was light, but Itachi saw the tension in his shoulders as he turned away and waved lazily over his shoulder.

Sasuke was already moving, darting into the forest as Itachi’s genjutsu broke.  Itachi felt a flash of pride as he felt his chakra diffusing away; the sharingan worked as well as they’d hoped it would.  Hoisting Sakura onto his back, he followed. 

_It’s all coming together now._

* * *

 

Gaara crossed his hands behind his back, mulling over the contents of Sakura's message.  His desk was covered with intelligence reports and official documents from Konoha; each document told him very different things, and that wasn't a good sign.  

It was Sakura's message that had him worried.  Konoha's official story didn't match up with what his intelligence teams had reported, and it was becoming very clear that Konoha's administration wasn't aware of the extent of their issues.  For one, Sakura and Itachi were on a mission that wasn't even disclosed to the Konoha intelligence community.  He knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't have taken on an infiltration mission like this if it weren't of vital importance.  

Flushing out Orochimaru's staging village wasn't going to be a problem; it had been on his radar for several years now as an Akatsuki smuggling centre.  It had a nasty habit of moving around, rarely staying in the same place for more than two years.  It was going to be easy to take care of.  What concerned him, however, was Sakura's disclosure of Orochimaru's plans for Konoha.  

His hand unconsciously strayed to his own seal, remembering his unfortunate encounter with the Akatsuki seven years previously.  It was about time that he paid his allies back for saving his life.  The irony of Sakura's position in the organization wasn't lost on him; the corner of his mouth turned up in a small smile.  

Now, it appeared that the members of the Akatsuki were spread out, with only Sakura and Itachi still together.  Tapping his foot, he thought for a moment.  

It was out of the question to let Konoha weather Orochimaru's inevitable attack alone, but he needed to find a way to make it look like he was working through his official branches of government.  He couldn't just show up to a council meeting spouting off extremely sensitive information that had come straight from two of the most wanted shinobi in the bingo book.  It was Fugaku's job to be insane.  

It had to be done carefully, tactfully.  

Making up his mind, he eased the window open and whistled for a messenger hawk.  He wrote quickly, deliberately choosing his words.  Itachi's idea had been a good one; it would be easy to pull it off.  

But Gaara couldn't shake his unease; there was something about the test subjects that nagged at him.   _How did they survive all of Orochimaru's experimentation?_

_Why does Orochimaru keep them around?_

* * *

 

Sakura woke up, blinking hard against the bright light that streamed into the room through the gauzy curtains.  She rolled onto her back, reaching out reflexively for Itachi, but he wasn't there.  She fought to clear the fog from her head, shaking her hair off her forehead. 

Everything was fuzzy; her brain was still struggling to work through her exhaustion.  She finally remembered that she was in an inn.  They’d stopped after ten miles, camouflaging their chakra and posing as a shinobi team.  There were enough Uchiha running missions that if two of them showed up in the same place it wasn’t terribly unusual.  She’d managed to conceal her hair, but in doing so she’d exhausted nearly all of her chakra. 

Even rolling over in the bed was difficult.  Her arms and legs felt like they were made of lead, and she was immediately out of breath.  She forced her eyes to focus, trying to jolt herself out of sleep. 

Her eyes suddenly rebelled with a sudden stab of pain, making her gasp.  Her hand flew up to cover her eyes, the light from the window suddenly made the pain unbearable.  Panicked, she tried to dredge up a measure of chakra to ease the frantic firing of her nerves, but to her dismay she didn't have enough left.  

She squeezed her eyelids shut, counting her breaths and trying to force herself to calm down.  _It's a side effect of the sharingan, you're okay.  Just wait for it to pass._

"It's worse than last time, isn't it."  

Sasuke's quiet remark from the corner of the room almost made her jump out of her skin.  She pressed a hand to her chest, her frantically beating heart thundered under her palm.

"Sasuke, you couldn't cough or something?!" 

He didn't reply, unfolding himself from the chair in the corner of the room and striding to the window.  She noticed that he kept his eyes carefully angled away from the bright light; he must have been experiencing some photo-sensitivity from the transplant.  He surveyed her with his eyes narrowed, watching her as she gulped down a glass of water that Itachi had left on the nightstand.  

"Why were you lurking in the corner, Sasuke?"  She asked tiredly, all of her limited energy already spent.  "Is there something wrong?" 

"No, my body works as well as I need it to," he answered darkly, watching her with an enigmatic look in his eye.  "We need to talk." 

A trickle of unease wound its way into her system and her heart skipped a beat.  She forced herself to meet his eye, unsure what he meant.  He was rarely frank with her, so she doubted that this conversation was going to go well.  

"Okay..?"  

He stood as still as a statue, the only sign of movement was his forefinger tapping against his bicep.  Finally, he took a deep breath and turned away from her.  "You should leave; find someplace to hide out for a while." 

_Huh?  What the hell..?_

Flabbergasted, she threw off the bed covers and eased herself into a sitting position.  "Why do you think that?" 

"Because you're probably not going to make it out of this mission alive." 

His sharp reply sent a bolt of ice through her and she turned her head to stare at him.  She felt betrayed, a mixture of anger and hurt swirled through her stomach and she had to force herself to take a deep breath.  

"Well that's not exactly encouraging," she began, her mind whirling.  "I can handle myself-"

"No, it's not.  You're in over your head." 

"Are you serious?" 

"Do I look like I'm kidding?"  He snapped, a muscle in his jaw working as he glared at her.  “You almost died.  You can’t fight.”

She laughed suddenly, an angry, bitter sound.  "You haven't changed at all.  How  _dare_  you?! After all this time you still think that-" 

"You don't have the faintest idea what I think," he muttered, watching as she fought to find the words to express her anger.  

"I'm starting to have a clue!"  

He didn't respond, his eyes darkening as he took in her outrage.  Moving shakily, she forced herself to stand and look him in the eye.  "You have  _no_  idea what it took for me to get where I am today.  You  _left_ , you don't get to decide that I'm still the disposable, token-girl member of your academy squad!"  

"Shut up and listen to me for a second, I didn’t say that-" He took a step towards her, towering over her.  She crossed her arms and stared defiantly at him

"No!  I'm not weak anymore; I literally brought you back  _from the dead_ -" 

"Sakura, you're not weak.  You're _Itachi's_  weakness-"

"You always find a way to- what..?"  

_No way.  I-I can't believe that he just said that._

She was about to continue her rant, but she was speechless.  She had nothing to say.  He glared at her for a few seconds, and then his steely expression softened when he realized that she wasn't still yelling at him.  She felt a flicker of shame as she hurriedly wiped away an angry tear.

_I don’t know why I get so defensive with him.  I thought I was past my resentment, but there’s something about him and Itachi that just makes me freak out.  Nice going, Sakura._

"Orochimaru won't hesitate to use you to get to Itachi.  Now that you don't have my sharingan, you can't protect yourself the same way." 

"Sasuke, that's not fair.  You could use the same argument for you.  He cares about you even more." 

He shook his head; his dark hair covered his eyes as he looked away.  "No, he doesn't.  Orochimaru can control both of us if he manages to hurt you.  It's better if we don't have to worry about it."  

She sat back down on the bed, her energy spent.  "Have you talked to Itachi about this?" 

"No, I thought it might be better if it came from you."  For the first time, Sasuke looked uncomfortable.  He turned back towards the window, bracing his arms on the sill. "I don't know what he'd do if he lost you.  Don't put him in that position." 

"I-" 

"Just think about it," he muttered, turning on his heel and striding out of the room. 

 She watched silently as he gently closed the door behind him with a click.  

She sat, dumbfounded as her exhausted brain tried to analyze what was going on.  She still felt hurt, but it was tempered by Sasuke’s argument. 

_I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to Itachi because of me.  I never asked him what he thought about everything._

_It’s just…complicated._

She put her head in her hands, fighting the dizziness that threatened to drown her.  Frustrated, she ran a finger over her seal. 

_Everything is too damn complicated._

* * *

 

Itachi paused at the end of the hallway; his keen ears heard something that concerned him.  His eyes narrowed as he moved closer. 

_I didn’t know that she was awake._

Sasuke and Sakura were arguing. 

He didn’t know what to expect.  After months of living with the two of them he knew that they were prone to bickering, but this was different.  Sakura’s voice was shrill, and he knew that she was on the verge of tears.  He couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but there was something about the quiet intensity of Sasuke’s retorts that made him wonder about the argument.

Instantly, his mind whirred over a thousand different possibilities, most of which centered on his suspicion that Sasuke had feelings for Sakura.  He forced himself to ignore that possibility; it would do him no good to get upset about something that he didn’t have any solid proof of.

 _They were always supposed to end up together_ , his guilt whispered nastily, sounding eerily like Sasuke’s voice.  _You couldn’t help yourself; you took her away from him too._  

He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm himself.  Itachi wasn’t used to the storm of emotions that rioted within him; he was determined to stay in control.

He sensed Sasuke’s chakra moving towards him a split-second before the door opened and he strode into the hallway.  If Sasuke was surprised to see Itachi standing there, he didn’t show it. 

“You should talk to her,” he muttered, barely glancing at his brother before he made his way to the second room that they’d rented.  Itachi watched him for a moment, his brow furrowed with concern.

Easing the door open, he entered to find Sakura sitting on the bed with her head in her hands.  He was at her side in a flash, searching for any sign of distress. 

“Sakura, what happened?” 

She raised her head slowly, and he could see that there were tear marks where tears had streamed down her cheeks.  “Itachi, how much did you hear?”

“Nothing, but I know that you were arguing.”

“Sasuke thinks that I’m your weakness,” she whispered quietly, refusing to look him in the eye.  “He wanted me to tell you that I should stay behind.”

Itachi was taken aback.  He was ashamed to admit that he was relieved that she and Sasuke hadn’t argued about anything that he needed to be concerned about. 

“He’s right,” he replied finally, easing onto the bed next to her.  “You’re in no condition to fight.”

“Don’t you start,” she murmured, laboriously standing up and striding to the window.  He watched with concern as she immediately turned away from the light, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight. 

“How bad are the side effects?”  He asked quietly, appraising her with his dark eyes.  She didn’t respond for a moment, and he felt a flicker of concern.  She was being cagey, which worried him.

“It hurts to blink,” she admitted finally, still refusing to look at him.  “It's worse this time.  My vision is a little bit fuzzy.”

“Can you heal your eyes?”  He demanded, striding over to her and raising her chin to inspect her eyes.  “This shouldn’t be happening to you-“

“Itachi, it’s not your fault, we couldn’t have planned for it.  We didn’t know that we were going to fight Juugo.”

“With Sasuke’s chakra gone, this won’t happen again.” 

He didn’t know who he was trying to convince, himself or her. 

“No, it won’t.  But we don’t know what’s going to happen,” she murmured sadly, stepping away from him.  “I’m out of commission for a few days."

“Be honest with me, how much chakra do you have?”

She sighed, and he was struck with déjà vu.  It seemed so long ago that they were having this exact conversation in an inn that looked eerily like this one. 

“Probably eleven percent, it’s difficult to tell because I also used up chakra that wasn’t mine,” she said, her words tinged with bitterness. 

He couldn't help the disapproving tone of his voice, his worry made his words as sharp as the kunai that he favored.  "Promise me that you won't try anything as reckless as the forbidden jutsu again." 

"Itachi-"

"No, if I wasn't there, you might be dead.  You're too important to lose, this mission isn't over yet."  Her eyes widened at the ice in his tone before narrowing.  

"Itachi, think very carefully about what you're going to say next," she murmured, her eyes growing flintier by the second.  "I'm too tired to fight about this." 

"You can’t keep taking these risks, between the fight with Juugo earlier and now this-“

“ _This_?!  You mean your brother coming _back to life_?!”

Itachi was taken aback, but he continued on, fully aware that he was treading in dangerous waters.  His anger and terror bubbled out of him, taking on a form that he didn’t even recognize.  “Yes, he’s alive, but you almost died-“

“I wasn’t about to lose him _again_ , Itachi, I watched the first time as he died-“

“And I killed him,” he retorted angrily, feeling very frustrated that he’d thrown her headlong into another argument, but it felt like the words just poured out of his mouth. 

“You are not allowed to wallow; he’s been alive for months-” She threw her hands up, running them through her hair in frustration.  “Why didn’t you stop me?”

“Knowing about the jutsu in theory is different than seeing it in action.  I watched as the chakra _left your body_ and you gave everything that you had to bring Sasuke back.”

“Itachi-“ 

“When you screamed, it sounded like you were being ripped apart.  You were about to sacrifice yourself-“

She laughed suddenly, bitterly, tears streaming anew down her cheeks.  “This isn’t about the jutsu at all, is it?”

Itachi found himself without a reply.  For once he could think of no logical thing to say, no comeback, nothing to deflect the question.  She stepped closer, her shining eyes seeing right through him.  Through the wards that he’d put up to protect himself. 

He couldn’t hide from her, she knew him too well. 

“You can't take Sasuke's place, and he can't take yours.  I can’t believe that I have to say this, but you are _not_ a placeholder for Sasuke,” she said fiercely, forcing him to look at her.  “You were _never_ a replacement for him.”

He said nothing.

“Damn it, Itachi!  I had a crush on Sasuke as a kid, that was years ago!  I-I don’t understand you!”

“Sakura-“

“No!  You don’t get to act like an emotionally stunted child because you’re jealous!”

“I’m not jealous.”

“Bullshit!  I’m so over this melodramatic Uchiha brooding that you’re doing!”

“I’m not brooding, I was worried-“

“Itachi, I can’t believe I’m about to say this right now, but I can’t deal with this anymore-“

“Sakura-“ He fought down a sudden rush of panic, his brain finally catching up to his emotions.  A million things ran through his mind, funneling down to one thought; he was about to lose her.

What she said next stopped him in his tracks. 

“I’m in love with _you_ , you idiot,” she said firmly, crossing her arms and glaring at him.  “I was waiting for the right time to say it, but you just had to go and get all dramatic about-mmph!”

She melted into the kiss, her exclamation forgotten.  Gathering her into his arms, he held her tightly, trying to express everything that he was feeling.  Her arms snaked around his neck, and he lost track of everything that he’d been thinking about.  All he could think about was her.

Finally, he drew back, cupping her face in his palms.  She looked up at him with hazy eyes, a bright blush colouring her cheeks. 

“Itachi..?”

“I’m sorry, I-“

“Shh, I know,” she murmured, threading her hands into his hair and pulling him closer.  “You don’t have to explain.  We’ll be fine, just consider that you should learn to express your feelings.”

He chuckled quietly, the sound muffled by her hair as she embraced him.  “I’m an Uchiha; you’re not going to change me.  Promise me that you’ll be more careful.”

“Fine.”

“That sounds very encouraging.”  His dry reply made her laugh softly. 

“Stop ruining the moment,” she sighed, unwinding her arms from him and pulling him gently towards the bed.  “As much as I want to rip your clothes off, I’m too tired to think right now.  Come to bed.”

A sly grin slid across his mouth as he followed her with no resistance.  “I’ll do all of the work.” 

“Itachi, that’s not what I meant!”

Her laugh echoed through the room. 

* * *

 

“Here it is, after all of this time.  Stand back, it’s going to get a little dusty in here.” 

Tsunade led the way downwards. 

They’d silently made their way from the safe house to the burnt-out remains of the archives.  Shikamaru and Neji had helped her to clear away hundreds of pounds of debris until she found the markings that she’d been looking for. 

The time for secrecy was past, and it was with little hesitation that she made a cut on her hand and smeared her blood across the hidden seal that camouflaged the main entrance to the lab.  It had popped open, releasing a huge cloud of dust.  

She’d muscled the huge metal trapdoor open, revealing a tunnel that ran below the village.  The air that assaulted her was full of mold and dust, the scent of decay permeated her nostrils. 

Now she stared into the darkness, about to break her word to Jiraya.  _Some promises have to be broken, for the good of everyone._

They climbed down into the tunnel, picking their way through the skeletal remains of dozens of bodies.  Tsunade couldn’t remember how many of the corpses had been there before the raid that had changed everything and introduced Konoha to its greatest enemy. 

Orochimaru didn’t care about his test subjects after they were no longer useful to him. 

Shikamaru let out a quiet whistle as Neji thoughtfully sparked up a torch, illuminating the battleground of Orochimaru’s arrest.  

Tsunade forced herself to focus, determined to keep her composure.  _I can’t afford to lose my mind over what I remember.  It’s far too late to help any of these people._

Her heart was in her throat as she finally found the entrance that she was looking for after searching for a while.  The door was made of steel, painted over with a large seal.  She waited for Neji and Shikamaru to catch up with her, her heartbeat thundering in her ears and blood rushing through her veins as she regarded the entrance to Orochimaru’s abandoned lab. 

“Tsunade-sama, this seal hasn’t been disturbed.”   Neji’s quiet observation shattered the quiet, and she forced herself back to the present.  The last time that she’d come this far the walls had been covered in blood, and the tunnel had echoed with the groaning and weeping of injured shinobi.

As far as she was concerned, the whole underground network was cursed. 

“You're right, it hasn’t.  I don’t know what kind of traps Orochimaru set down here before he left, so be on your guard.”

Using the blood that was still coagulating on her hand, she swiped her hand across the door.  The seal reacted immediately to her Senju blood, glowing with an eerie red light.  With shaking hands, she eased her keyring out of her pocket, running her fingers over the smallest of the bunch.

_The Hebi Key. I'd hoped that I would never have to use it._

The keys clinked gently as she slowly slid the snake-embossed key into a small keyhole, letting out a long, steadying breath as the mechanism within clicked and whirred.  The door made a clicking sound; it was unlocked but remained rusted shut at the bottom. 

Tsunade didn’t know if it was stuck because of moisture or the blood that had flowed down the halls of the tunnel all those years ago.  She didn’t care to find out. 

“Prepare yourselves,” she grunted, forcing chakra into her legs. 

Without waiting for a reply, Tsunade kicked down the door with all of her might, watching silently as the metal was ripped off its hinges and clattered noisily down a previously hidden set of stone steps. 

Neji watched without commenting as she gathered chakra into her arm and flung the door out of her way as she bustled down the stairs. 

“Orochimaru doesn’t have the key,” she murmured.  “Everything is how it was.”

“What does that mean for us, Hokage-sama?”  Shikamaru asked, his face was pale with revulsion.  “What happened down here?”

“I’ll tell you-” she cut off, peering into the darkness.  “It can’t be.”

“Hokage-sama?”

“Is that what I think it is?”  She whispered, more to herself than to anyone else. 

She stopped suddenly, barely noticing that both Neji and Shikamaru almost ran into her.  She was too busy staring at something in the middle of the cavernous room.  Her stomach dropped into her knees, and she felt a bead of cold sweat trickle down her spine.

Slowly, carefully, she picked her way across the debris that littered the floor, heading towards the dais.  She was so focused that she didn’t notice Shikamaru’s muttered oaths as he explored the remains of the lab. 

The coffins were exactly how she remembered them. 

“So that’s it,” she breathed.  “That’s why.  He’s still trying to bring them back.” 


	34. Oathbreaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loyalties are tested. Sasuke and Itachi have a frank discussion that reopens old wounds. Fugaku slips closer to the edge of death. Orochimaru overestimates the loyalty of a subordinate.

The dawn crept in slowly, bathing the trees in a soft golden glow.  A gentle wind began to blow, its presence marked by the gentle tinkling of a dozen wind chimes.  The scent of baking bread and floral teas filled the air; it was morning. 

Sasuke closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath of fresh, clean air.  It felt indescribably good to have real lungs again.  He could feel his blood pumping around his system, his heartbeat reminding him with every pulse that he was _alive_. 

He listened closely to the sounds of the dawn, absorbing every bird call and listening to the whisper of the breeze through the branches of the tree where he’d taken refuge.

It felt right to be alone, for once.  He reflected quietly on the events of the last year, his brow furrowing slightly as he thought about the six months that he’d lost.  There was a small part of him that had wished for oblivion, for nothingness.  

That’s not what happened; Sasuke knew that he would be forever affected by what he had experienced. 

The last thing that he remembered of his old life was Sakura’s terrified expression at the hospital; the tears shining in her bright green eyes as she’d tried to heal his wounds had deeply affected him.   He remembered the cold smell of antiseptic and the flashing of fluorescent lights.  The sudden sting of a needle, the pressure of chest compressions, the seeping of blood from his wounds, all of it was burned into his mind.

He’d barely managed to make it to the hospital in the first place; the only thing that was clear was that he’d needed to get to her.  She had been his only chance to make it out alive. 

But he’d collapsed in the entryway to the emergency wing, unable to keep the effects of his significant blood loss at bay.  Everything had started to fade away, until he’d heard her call his name.

Sakura had sobbed desperately in his ear as he’d fallen into a rapidly darkening fog, only able to hear what was going on around him.  The pain wasn’t what had bothered him the most; it was his body’s betrayal.  The panic that had flooded through his veins and sent his heart into overdrive was disconcerting.  Control over everything was such an essential Uchiha trait that anything that threatened his balance of emotions shook him badly. 

He took a deep breath, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.  He pressed his palm to his chest, still marveling over the fact that he had a body again.  A living, breathing body that was just as good, if not better than his real body. 

His real body was still rotting in the ground, and that was disconcerting to know.  Sasuke pushed that thought from his mind.  It was useless to waste time thinking about who he used to be.

Sakura had built him this body, taken the life out of another person to give him this second chance.  He’d watched, as if from a distance, as she had suffered through attacks of terrible pain during the activation of the forbidden jutsu. 

Her chakra had flickered so violently that he’d been afraid that her life would be snuffed out, like a guttering candle.  Just as it had been in the mangekyou, he’d been helpless, unable to do anything except watch as she’d writhed through an agony of Orochimaru’s design. 

When he’d watched her suffer trying to heal Naruto, and then to bring him back from the dead, he finally thought that he understood how she’d felt when she saw him dying on that hospital gurney.  He now understood what it meant to want to give anything to help the people who were important to you.  The key difference was love, not fear.

He’d obeyed Fugaku out of fear, but he’d wanted to help his friends because they were the only true family that he had left. 

_It was almost too late.  There’s so much that I regret._

He wished bitterly that he could take back what he’d said to Sakura when he’d rolled in on the hospital gurney, the life ebbing out of him with each passing second.  He’d regretted hurting her, and he’d had a sudden moment of clarity barely a minute before everything went black.  He hadn’t wanted his last taunting words to be her last memory of him.  He’d tried to apologize, to thank her, but the air had already wheezed out of his lungs, and he couldn’t make his mouth move.

Then the sounds of medical machinery and the hum of chakra had faded away, and he was left with nothing. 

Only the darkness was left, a crushing nothingness that had swallowed him whole.  

He didn’t know how much time had passed until he’d been wrenched from the darkness and thrust into a nightmare.

He’d woken up in the mangekyou sometime later, terrified and angry.  He had been scared that he was trapped forever, that he was in purgatory, forced to atone for his failures.  He’d been scared that he was alone, with no one able to help him or hear him.  He’d been angry, furious with himself for failing in his mission to assassinate Itachi, angry that he’d let his father convince him that Itachi was a villain, angry that he couldn’t stop sobbing. 

He had become angrier still as he’d watched Itachi’s life through the lens of his own sharingan, hurt and livid that Itachi had taken his place.  It had felt like a confirmation of his silent insecurities, that Itachi was, and always would be, the better Uchiha.  The Hokage had confided in Itachi, acted like Itachi was a priceless asset, and assigned him to a team with Naruto and Sakura.  On a surface level, Itachi had replaced Sasuke in all the ways that mattered to him the most. 

Sasuke had always assumed that he and Naruto were neck and neck to be considered for the position of a future Hokage, but Tsunade’s treatment felt like Itachi was always going to be chosen over him.  He had received Sasuke’s sharingan and didn’t even know that Sasuke was somehow trapped inside. 

So he’d lashed out.  Screaming with everything that he had, trying to make Itachi hear him.  Anything hurtful that he could think of, he would use it as a weapon; choosing words that he knew would hurt Itachi.  Sasuke hadn’t had any idea that Itachi had heard everything until he and Sakura had fled Suna.  

He sighed, letting go of the quietly simmering anger that had slowly risen within him.  Any hatred that he felt wasn’t directed towards Itachi. 

He didn’t hate Itachi, despite always feeling like he was in second place.  He was the younger of the two brothers; to be overlooked in certain situations was to be expected.  He could forgive Itachi for defending himself when attacked; he would have done the same thing. 

What he found difficult to forgive was Itachi’s absence.   For years, Sasuke had borne the brunt of Fugaku’s expectations, forced to give up on his teammates and pretend to be the perfect son that Fugaku wanted.  He couldn’t deny that there was some part of him that had been smug to find out that he was, for all intents and purposes, the Uchiha clan heir.  His smugness had quickly been smothered when he realized that his father wasn’t interested in him, Sasuke, but instead in a malleable, talented shinobi who was willing to follow orders.

Even if it required that he sacrifice his life to help the cause. 

As far as Sasuke was concerned, he’d paid his dues to Fugaku.  He’d lost his life trying to fulfill his father’s wishes.  The old Sasuke was dead, and he no longer felt any loyalty towards the man who had been willing to kill both of his sons for power.  It was bittersweet to find out that Fugaku was ill.  It would be far easier to hate him if he had committed so many crimes while of sound mind. 

In a strange way, Sasuke almost wished for it.  He knew that he would feel more justified in his hatred of his father if there was no ambiguity; there was no way to separate Fugaku’s real plans from the madness.  For now, he could channel his anger towards Orochimaru, which suited him just fine. 

Orochimaru was the root cause of everything, so he was going to die first. 

Silently, he made himself a promise.

He would kill Fugaku himself, even if he had to find a way to resurrect him.  He knew that he needed to avenge his mother and Shisui.  He wouldn’t rest easy until he knew that he had exacted his revenge.  But for now he needed to bide his time; Sakura and Itachi wouldn’t approve of his plans. 

A bird trilled in the next tree, and his gaze snapped onto it, taking in the details of its brightly coloured plumage.  It was close enough that he could see the subtle patterns of its feathers as it regarded him with one beady eye.  Just as quickly as it had arrived, it flapped off. 

His eyes fluttered shut once again as he inspected the way that his new eyes felt.  His vision was pristine once again, and that was uncomfortable. 

He’d managed to avoid blindness, but he’d still been forced to use his mangekyou more than he’d been happy with.  Idly, he wondered if Itachi found it unnerving to suddenly have perfect vision.  He made a mental note to spend some time training, relearning how to use his techniques. 

He glanced to his left as Itachi jumped noiselessly up into the tree onto a neighbouring branch.  “You’re up early, little brother,” he noted quietly, settling down beside Sasuke and surveying him.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Sasuke murmured, directing his gaze towards the inn.  “Where’s Sakura?”

“She’s still sleeping.  She’s in bad shape.”  Itachi’s expression darkened and his eyes narrowed slightly.  “You were right to suggest that she stay somewhere safe to recuperate.”

Sasuke, taken aback, didn’t say anything.  He considered sharing his reasons for approaching Sakura, but decided against it.  His silence didn’t seem to bother Itachi, who was content to just sit with him, apparently. 

Suddenly, silence was the last thing that he wanted from Itachi.  So many thoughts were swirling through his head; his contemplation had reopened wounds that he hadn’t realized were still festering. 

After a few moments, Sasuke couldn’t help the accusatory question that burst out of him.  “Why didn’t you come back for me?”

If Itachi was surprised by his outburst, he didn’t show it.  He thought for a moment, during which time Sasuke thought that he might lose his mind with impatience. 

“I was afraid,” Itachi admitted finally, looking down at his hands, his expression impassive.  “If I was going to be killed for betraying our father, I wanted to keep you out of it.”

“I was always involved,” Sasuke said severely, unconsciously clenching his jaw.  “When you left, everything went wrong.  I had to be there for Mother, she didn’t stop crying for months.”

“Sasuke, I didn’t leave willingly.  I was too young to understand that I had abandoned you and how that affected you.  If I could change what happened, I would.”

 There was something about the tone of Itachi’s reply that made Sasuke look up with surprise.  He had never heard that kind of emotion from Itachi before. 

“I thought that if you weren’t involved, that somehow Father would have to focus his anger on me,” he continued bitterly, “I was wrong to think that he would spare you, even for Mother’s sake.”

“But you still didn’t come back,” Sasuke whispered, hating that his voice sounded ragged.  “You could have taken me away.”

“I was under strict orders to keep my distance.”  Itachi said firmly, shaking his head slightly.  “My hands were tied.”

“By whom, exactly?”  Sasuke’s tone grew cold, and Itachi’s expression suddenly softened. 

“The Third’s council; I reported directly to them.  I was approached with a choice, and the decision that I made was to ensure that you weren’t harmed.”

“What was the choice?”  Sasuke heard himself ask the question, although his instincts were screaming at him that he didn’t want to know.  He had to understand.   

“In the event that the council thought that Fugaku was too close to endangering the village I was chosen to be an assassin.  I would have done it, but there was a catch. My choice was either to take a preemptive strike, or leave.  I obviously chose the latter.”

“What was the mission?”  Sasuke demanded, his heart was beating madly as he absorbed what Itachi was saying.

“It wasn’t just father who had to die, it was everyone. The entire clan had to be exterminated, which I wouldn’t allow unless it was the absolute last resort.”

“Why?” Sasuke whispered.  “Even me?”

Itachi sighed, twining his fingers together.  “No, I knew that I couldn’t kill you.  The irony of that statement isn’t lost on me,” he added drily, glancing at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye.  

“So you thought that leaving me was the best way to keep me safe. Either way, I died,” Sasuke said coldly, the timbre of his voice deepening.  He found that he wasn’t angry with Itachi, but more so with his controllers and Fugaku.  It made for a confusing mix of emotions. 

Itachi sighed, his gaze flickering absentmindedly to the ANBU tattoo that stood out in stark contrast to his pale skin.  “Some difficult choices had to be made, regardless of my personal feelings.  What you need to understand is that I was willing to do anything to keep you safe.  But I made mistakes, and the people that I care about have suffered because of it.”

“You wouldn’t have done it; you wouldn’t have killed our whole family.”  Sasuke hated the stab of ice that flooded through his veins, and his heartbeat increased.  “Is the village more important to you than the Uchiha?”  

Itachi made a small sound of disbelief, laughing gently.  “That’s too black and white, little brother.  When you’re in ANBU, everything becomes a shade of grey.  It was worth it, to me.  We wouldn’t be in this situation with Orochimaru if I’d been able to go through with my assignment.”

“No, you wouldn’t have done it, it’s so fucked up-“

“I would have, and I still will if the entire village hangs in the balance.  I was willing to move heaven and earth to save your life, Sasuke.  And despite that willingness, I failed.  In my ignorance, I thought that keeping my distance would be enough to stop our father.”

“But you could have found a way to take both me and Mother away to a safer place-“

“Would you have gone with a brother who you had already learned to hate?”  Itachi asked quietly, running a hand over his eyes.  “Do you remember what you wrote to me on your thirteenth birthday?”

Sasuke didn’t respond.  He was ashamed to remember; that letter had been burned into his memory.   It was what had flashed through his mind when Fugaku had given him the task of killing Itachi. 

_“You’re our secret shame; you bring nothing but dishonour to this family.  You don’t deserve your sharingan.  If it were up to me, I’d take it from you.  You’re an oath breaker.”_

He’d jumped at the chance to exact some revenge, still hurt and angry by what he thought was Itachi’s indifference.  He’d been so wrong.  The hurt and sorrow that he’d attempted to hide for years began to rise to the surface, and he suddenly found that he couldn’t look at Itachi.

He thought that he’d processed his emotions while in a crow, but it was different with a beating heart and the physical reaction of his body to his racing mind. 

He couldn’t speak, couldn’t think.  He felt like he would be ripped apart if he allowed himself to feel everything.  So he ended the conversation.

“’I’ve heard enough.”

Itachi sighed, standing up abruptly. “I can’t change the past, but I won’t hesitate to spend the rest of our lives making up for my mistakes.  It’s your choice whether or not you want me in your life.”

“I need time to decide what I want,” Sasuke said firmly, determinedly avoiding his brother’s gaze.  He felt a tempest building inside of him; all he wanted was to be left alone.

“I’ll wait,” Itachi said simply, turning to leave.

Sasuke watched as he silently jumped down to the ground.  His eyes were fixed on Itachi’s back as he strode back towards the inn. 

On the tiny Uchiha crest that rested between his shoulder blades. 

A lone tear suddenly dropped onto his hand as he looked down at his clenched fists.  His shoulders shook with silent sobs; his emotions finally spilling out of him as he mourned. 

He cried for his lost childhood, for the broken relationship with his brother.  Tears continued to fall as he thought about his mother, whose last thought was to entreat him to help Itachi.  He mourned for Shisui, who had always been there with a ready smile and a steady nature that had centered and focused Sasuke when all that he felt was anger and frustration.

Finally, he wept for his father’s cruelty and single-minded determination to destroy Tsunade.  Everything that had happened to Sasuke was a ripple effect of Fugaku’s quest for power.  He’d betrayed his brother, abandoned Sakura and Naruto, and turned his back on Kakashi, who had been a better father to him than Fugaku ever was.   

Frustrated, he scrubbed his hand across his face.  Waves of grief continued to wash over him, rooting him in place.  His mind was spinning, running through every event that had compounded into his current predicament. 

Slowly, gradually, his sorrow began to ebb away.  His heartbeat slowed, and he began to isolate one thought that played on a loop. 

_It was Konoha.  It’s because of the administration that my uncle was sent out on that mission and because of them that my brother was taken from me. They ordered my brother to kill me if they felt threatened._

_Senju versus Uchiha, it’s always caused nothing but death and pain._

_Konoha’s council members also have blood on their hands._

_I won’t let them get away with it._

* * *

 

Tsunade coughed, choking on the fizzy liquid that had made its way into her windpipe.  Her eyes began to stream with tears as she tried to catch her breath.  Without missing a beat, she took another swig from her bottle of sake, not even bothering to use one of the many sake cups that littered the conference table. 

“It’s a damn mess,” she grumbled, brandishing her bottle at the three men who sat with her.  “It’s always the same with him. Orochimaru always wants a stage and a full theatre.”

Shikamaru watched her with one raised eyebrow, but was smart enough not to comment as she determinedly made herself very drunk.  Kakashi took a lightning-fast swig of his own alcohol, moving so quickly that even Shikamaru couldn’t see what was under his mask. 

“Tsunade-sama-“

“Don’t give me that shit, Kakashi,” she snapped, a bright red flush rising in her cheeks as she glared at the current Hokage.  “I told you to cut that out.”

“Sorry.  So, what you’re saying is that Orochimaru has, uh, correct me if I say this wrong, but he has mommy and daddy issues?”

“You got it right,” Shikamaru replied drily, nursing his own cup and thinking hard.  “She says that he’s had the same goal for fifty years.”

“To bring his parents back from the dead?”  Naruto scratched his head, looking down at his sandals.  “Speakin’ as an orphan, even I think that’s a bit messed up.  You should have seen what that jutsu did to Sakura, and she was just bringing Sasuke back.  Two people would need too much chakra for anyone.”

“Except a Nine-Tails who also happens to have the Uzumaki trait of tons of chakra-“  Tsunade slammed her bottle down on the table.  “-he never forgave old Sarutobi from stopping his experiments and keeping him away from their bodies.  How he managed to get them in the first place I’ll never know.”

“I see,” Kakashi mused, tapping his finger against his bicep.  “So tell me if I get this right.  Everything that he’s done, it’s all so that he can get back what he thinks was stolen from him?”

"Yeah.  All of the experiments that he was originally running, it was so he could bring his parents back from the dead.  Cheating death is his ultimate goal."

"Well he's certainly done that plenty of times," Shikamaru grunted, putting his feet up on the table and lacing his fingers together behind his head.  "What a drag.  Why not just break in and steal them back?"   

"Old Sarutobi made the mistake of telling him that he had the makings of a great Hokage, so he somehow thinks that I usurped him.  He won't rest until he's made Konoha submit to him.  Killing me is just the icing on top of that cake," Tsunade replied bitterly. "Killing Sarutobi was just an appetizer." 

“My head hurts, what a pain,” Shikamaru grumbled, refilling his cup.  “It’s so needlessly complicated. Are we supposed to feel sympathy for him?”

“Don’t,” Tsunade growled.  “He’s pure evil.  The kid that I knew who was kind and intelligent has been replaced by a monster.  There’s nothing human left in him.” 

“He likes drama, that’s for certain,” Kakashi replied, glancing at Naruto, who was uncharacteristically silent.  “Naruto, have you got anything to add?”

“You mean you want me to talk about how bad I want to kill this guy?”  Naruto growled, crossing his arms and glaring out the window.  “I dunno if I’ve got the words.”

Tsunade snorted, taking another swig of alcohol. 

“Naruto, you’re going to be in the front lines.  You’ll get your piece of Orochimaru, although you might have to fight Sakura and the Uchiha brothers for it.”  The last part was punctuated by a tipsy wink, which Naruto, to his credit, ignored.

“I’m all healed up, but I’ll take all the help that I can get.  As long as you don’t mind going over the plan with Kurama, we’re all set.”

“That’s fine.   We can’t let him get a sharingan, no matter what.  If he gets one, we’ve lost.  He wins.”

“He won’t,” Naruto growled.  She continued as if she hadn’t heard him. 

“I have a meeting with the administrators tomorrow, and my plan is to come clean about everything. Tell me your objections now, I’m gonna need a good plan.”

“Are you sure that’s the smart play?”  Shikamaru said darkly, glaring at her over his cup.  “You’re getting pretty damn close to breaking your oath.”

“I said that I would keep the Uchiha clan out of it, yes, but there are certain things that Fugaku was involved in that prevent me from glossing over him entirely,” she snapped, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

“Pah,” Shikamaru scoffed, clearly irritated by her response. 

“If there’s no mention of him there’s gonna be questions. Besides, Fugaku would throw me under the bus in a heartbeat.”

“You’re better than that.”  The soft murmur came from Kakashi, who was surveying her with uncharacteristic steel in his visible eye.  “Don’t lower yourself down to his level.”

She hiccupped indignantly at Kakashi, who began to shake his head.  “You’re not Fugaku.  You can’t play dirty.”

“I haven’t got the power anymore-“ she grumbled, stopping short as the sound of a sake cup breaking echoed through the room. 

“So make sure that you have the answers,” Naruto’s sudden interjection made them all look over at him in surprise.  “You want to protect Sakura?  Then make sure that you’ve got your story straight and don’t let them take over.”

“Some of the older councilmembers are sharks,” Shikamaru reminded her, his tone gentling, “They’ll smell any blood in the water.  You’re almost better off making it look like Fugaku left the village entirely, looking for a cure for his illness. Reveal that Orochimaru _might_ be alive.”

“Go on,” she said quietly, her bloodshot eyes clearing slightly. 

“If Fugaku has, by all appearances, left the village looking for Orochimaru then it’ll light a fire under their asses to put you back where you should be- as Hokage.  You can say that you’ve been hearing rumours ever since Sakura and Itachi left, that’s why we’ve been fortifying the village and postponed this year’s Chunin exam.”

Kakashi chuckled suddenly, nodding in agreement.  “Good, Shikamaru.  That’ll keep the suspicion where it needs to be, on Fugaku.  They’ll be so busy delegating resources to find him that we’ll know about any attack long before Orochimaru gets here.”

“I don’t like it,” Tsunade grumbled, trying to pour herself another drink and glaring angrily into her bottle when she discovered that it was empty.  “My duty is to protect the village, and I gotta come clean about what’s threatening the peace-“

“Yeah, _that’s_ your duty,” Naruto said firmly.  “Your job isn’t to keep the old farts entertained and comfortable.  You gotta put your foot down and protect this village the best that you can. You should march in there and tell them exactly what happened.”

“I can’t,” she sighed, dropping her head into her hands.  “I refuse to have the blood of the Uchiha on my hands.”

“Then let Fugaku testify!”  Naruto demanded, jumping to his feet.  “He needs to pay for what he’s done, we can’t let Orochimaru win!  Fugaku said that he’s willing to do whatever it takes, so make him!  Too many lives are at stake, I won’t let you stand by and let innocent people die because you’re afraid to make a mistake!”

“What do you know?!”  Tsunade roared, planting her hands on the table.  “You’re a kid!”

“Not anymore!” He retorted, meeting her furious glare with his own.  “What happens tomorrow could be the decidin’ factor that changes how ready we are when Sakura and Sasuke get back.  Don’t let what happened with the old Third happen again!”

“He’s right,” Shikamaru said firmly, nodding with agreement.  “The mistakes of the past are what got us into this mess.”

“Tch,” Tsunade responded, settling back down in her chair and avoiding his piercing gaze.  “Fine.  You’re right.  What should I do?”

Naruto sighed, running a hand over his face.  “Go with Shikamaru’s plan.  Make Fugaku look even crazier than he already is.  We have the witnesses that we need.  Use the steward and old sparky pants to sell it.”

“Old sparky pants, huh?”  Kakashi asked, his sly grin pushing his mask higher on his cheeks. 

“Yeah, Raiton.  Dude can’t do anything, so he’s just puttin’ sparks out,” Naruto replied, shrugging nonchalantly.

Tsunade didn’t say anything, simply turned her bottle round and round in her palm.  “If the plan still makes sense to me when I’m sober, then that’s what we’ll do.  Kakashi, I need you to act as the real deal tomorrow, you can’t act like we’re working together.”

“Uh, yeah, about that.  Y’know, Naruto, you might be ready to be Hokage after all-“ Kakashi began, cutting off with a sheepish grin as both Shikamaru and Tsunade jumped to their feet, hollering their objections.

“Nah, I’m gonna sit back and make sure that I don’t make the same mistakes that you did-ow!”

Tsunade’s projectile (the empty sake bottle) bounced off of Naruto’s head with enough force to ricochet to the left and make an impressive dent in the wall.

“Whoops, sorry kid.”

“Sure ya are.  I’m gonna need another drink,” he grumbled in response.   

Kakashi just shook his head, his disapproval obvious. Tsunade ignored the three of them and stomped to the door, opening it and hollering for more alcohol. 

 “Oh man,” Shikamaru groaned.  “I don’t know how we’re going to pull this off.  We’re going to need a miracle.”

* * *

 

Sakura blearily opened her eyes, taking in the bright golden light of the dawn.  Immediately, she groaned and rolled over.  _I’m not ready to be awake yet._

Her body ached.  Every muscle felt like it had been shredded and then taped back together.  She blinked hard, trying to clear the grit of sleep from her eyes.  Cracking one of them open, she noted with some surprise that there was no pain. 

Now fully awake, she used as little chakra as she could to gently probe around in her eye.  The optical nerve still had some swelling, but she was concerned with some slight nerve fraying.  If she’d used the sharingan even one more time, there was no doubt in her mind that she would have lost a significant portion of her vision.  She was trying her hardest to ignore that her eyes were having a hard time focusing; it was like everything was underwater; slightly distorted and a little fuzzy around the edges. 

Her chakra reserves were still far too low for her to do anything productive, so she eased herself onto her back, biting back a moan of pain. 

_I haven’t felt this bad since Tsunade-sama accidentally buried me under that big pile of boulders when I was seventeen_ , she thought, groaning aloud. 

She looked to her left as the door eased open and Itachi quietly slipped into the room.  She felt the corners of her eyes crinkling up into a smile as he sat down beside her.  “You’re finally awake.”

“Yeah-“  she had to clear her throat; she’d clearly not spoken for hours, her voice was rough.  “-yeah, how long was I asleep?”

“Close to sixteen hours,” he replied, laying the back of his hand across her forehead.  “I was concerned, that’s unusual, even for drained chakra.”

“Kakashi-sensei has slept for longer after using his sharingan, so I’m okay,” she replied, shifting her protesting muscles over so that he could sit more comfortably.  “Where did you go?”

He shrugged, easing over so that his head rested on the pillow beside hers.  “Sasuke and I were having a conversation that was long overdue.”

“Oh?”

Sakura didn’t interrupt as he relayed his conversation with Sasuke.  Her hand flew up to cover her mouth as he revealed the classified secret that he’d kept for more than a decade.  

“Itachi-“

“It’s in the past,” he interrupted her, not unkindly. “I owed him the truth.  We’ll deal with the fallout after all of this is over.  I’m reluctant to leave you here alone in the meantime.”

She tenderly reached out and brushed his hair out of his eyes, ignoring the protests of her muscles.  “I’ll be okay.  I need to rest, but I should be good enough to request a summoning to Shikkotsu forest within a couple of days.”

He didn’t say anything, but the pensive look in his eye spoke volumes.  She shook her head at his unspoken question.  “No, I won’t release my seal.  We’re going to need that chakra later; I’ve spent too long storing it to waste it on healing myself outside of battle.”

She nearly rolled her eyes as his eyes narrowed.  “It’s not wasteful to heal yourself.”

“I’m fine.  Stop acting like a parent,” she teased, laughing softly at the alarmed expression that flickered across his face.  “Just promise me that you two will be careful.”

He reached up and covered her hand with his own where it rested against his cheek.  “I give you my word.  I’ll leave a crow with you, so you can get a message to us if you need to.”

“I can live with that,” she murmured, the lull of sleep was already threatening to pull her under again.  “It’s weird to not have Sasuke hopping around, so I’ll welcome the company.”

He chuckled, easing off the bed as her eyes began to slide shut.  He pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead, but she was already almost asleep.  He glanced up to see a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye, but it was only Sasuke. 

“We should get going,” he said shortly, turning and striding away before Itachi could respond. 

He watched Sasuke walk away for a moment before sighing and checking his pack to make sure that he had everything that he needed.  Itachi glanced at Sakura’s sleeping form one last time, silently saying goodbye.  His sharingan flooded away from his eyes as he turned to leave, the memory of her peaceful expression stored away for safekeeping. 

He began to sign quickly, summoning a crow and quietly instructing it to remain close.  As one last precautionary measure he cast a powerful genjutsu over the room, camouflaging her faint chakra signature and building the illusion of an empty room.  He’d already paid for a week’s lodging; there was little chance of the innkeeper mistakenly renting out the room to someone else.  He’d also given the inn’s owner strict instructions to leave the room locked and undisturbed at all times.  Given the sheer number of shinobi travellers who probably passed this way, his request wasn’t unusual in the slightest. 

Reluctantly, he left, locking the door and sliding the key back to Sakura through the seam between the door and the wooden floor. 

_Be safe.  I love you too._

* * *

 

Juugo pressed a hand to his chest, concerned.  His heart felt like it was fluttering again, which wasn’t a good thing.   He sat in a dark corner of his cave, watching the flecks of dust that spun around and around in the faint beam of sunlight that shone in from above. 

Orochimaru was back. Juugo hadn't realized that the Sannin was gone until he'd left his cave.  It was a relief, Orochimaru didn't know about the fight yet.  It gave him time to try to come up with a good story, but so far he had nothing.  

Juugo had spent the last two days making sure that the test subjects were fed and taken care of (as best he could).  His rage had completely ebbed away for the time being, replaced by the anxiety caused by the fact that Kabuto was dead. 

He knew that Kabuto would have betrayed them all, and happily killed them to boot, but knowing that didn’t soothe his aching conscience in the slightest. 

He trusted Sakura, and by extension, Itachi.  But that didn’t mean that he was happy about the turn that his life had taken.  The prisoners were in bad shape, and he silently hoped that Sakura would be back soon to help them.  There was only so much that he could do; he was afraid to try and help for fear that his own chakra might turn against him. 

He didn’t know if he could keep himself under control in a stressful situation.  He absentmindedly fingered the blade of Sakura’s kunai, impressed that she’d managed to get under his carapace with one throw.  The tip was broken and dented beyond repair; the tiny metal shard from the point of the kunai was still embedded in his back. 

He didn’t mind pain.  That was something that he was used to.  His arm was still slightly numb from the neurotoxin that she'd slathered on the blade, but that was slowly fading away. 

His head snapped up as the great stone door to the chamber slammed open.  Orochimaru wasted no time before he stormed into the room, his furious gaze raking the shadows for someone.  Juugo wasn’t sure if he was looking for Kabuto.

He stood up, walking purposefully into the beam of light and bowing deeply.  Orochimaru’s furious expression didn’t soften as he took in the sight of the heavily bruised giant. 

“Juugo.”

“Orochimaru-sama-“

“You’d better have a good explanation for what happened here.”

Juugo took a deep breath, spreading his hands in supplication.  “I’m sorry, Master.  I lost control.”

“Why?”  Orochimaru’s tone was icy, and Juugo suppressed a shudder as he felt the oily presence of his malevolent chakra. 

For the first time, Juugo could feel his hackles rising as he regarded Orochimaru.  Gone was the steady determination of his trust in the Sannin, everything he was feeling bordered on betrayal.  Suddenly, he wanted nothing more than to take some sort of revenge on the man who had so callously murdered and used Kimimaro.

He was disappointed in himself for allowing Orochimaru to take advantage of his trust and commitment in Kimimaro.  He was done. 

“Kabuto was the reason, Orochimaru-sama.  He attempted to recruit Sakura, Itachi, and I to conspire against you.  I lost control and attacked him.”

Orochimaru’s reptilian eyes narrowed, and his gaze flicked to the hunks of rock that still lay scattered around the room.  He took in the depressions in the ground where Sakura had used her strength, the damage to the walls, and the bruises that covered Juugo’s body.  “Where is he now?”

“Dead, I think.”  Juugo forced his expression into one of neutrality, fighting the urge to curl up in a ball and hide.  He’d never dared to speak to Orochimaru so plainly before.  Dark waves of chakra continued to wash over him, and he had to swallow hard to try to keep the bile that threatened to spill up from his stomach at bay. 

He expected Orochimaru to get angry, to lash out, but he was shocked by the reaction that he got instead.

Orochimaru simply threw back his head and laughed; the sound echoed through the chamber, cold and cruel.  Juugo’s skin erupted with goosebumps, and he unconsciously took a small step backwards.

The Sannin finally stopped chuckling and surveyed Juugo through a curtain of his dark hair. “He had more guts than I gave him credit for.  Too bad he had to go and mess it up; I would have had my fun with him before I slaughtered him.”

The finality of Orochimaru’s statement made Juugo’s knees feel weak, and he found himself nodding. 

As quickly as it had come, his mirth was gone.  He coldly surveyed Juugo, who was ghostly pale and sweating from anxiety.  “Where’s the body, Juugo?”

“Sakura and Itachi took it,” he murmured, unable to stop the words from leaving his mouth.  He immediately felt a knot of guilt begin to weave itself into tangles in his stomach, but he forced the feeling away.  _They knew that he would find out, it’s not a secret at this point.  When they come back it’ll be obvious_.

Naked fear shot through Juugo’s veins as Orochimaru’s face twisted into a grimace of pure rage.  His eyes narrowed to slits, and his chakra shifted.  If it was menacing before, it was corrosive now.  Juugo shuddered as he registered the danger in the room; he could taste it.  The bitter tang of fear flooded through his mouth as he watched the Sannin morph into a creature of his nightmares.

His physical features didn’t change, but there was no way that he was still human. 

Juugo could only watch as he turned on his feel and stalked out of the room, taking his murderous intent with him.  He felt his knees give out in relief, and he slumped to the floor.  His heart was racing, and the beads of sweat that had gathered on his forehead were streaming in rivulets down his face. 

He gulped in air, staring straight at the single shaft of sunlight for comfort.  Sakura and Itachi were in real danger, he was afraid for them. 

_We need to get out of here, and fast._

Moving silently, he slipped out into the corridor and padded on bare feet to the prisoner cells.

_It’s time to end this._

“Come on, get up.  We’re leaving.”  His voice echoed down the length of the hallway, rousing sleeping test subjects.  He placed his hand on a padlock keeping three cells locked and pulled, shattering the iron chains. 

“Hold on a moment, Juugo.” 

Itachi’s quiet interjection came drifting out of the shadows.  Juugo let out an anxious breath that he hadn’t realized that he’d been holding as Itachi stepped into the light.  “Itachi, you’re back.  Where’s Sakura?”

“She’s in bad shape, but she’s safe.”

“Why did you stop me?”

“You need to know where to take them.  The plan’s changed.  We’re not going to blow this place up.  Do you know where the staging village is?”

Juugo let out a small chuckle, tinged with bitterness.  “That’s where Orochimaru found us.  Of course I know it.”

“Good.  Head there as quickly as you can with every single prisoner.  Suna’s ANBU will take you to Konoha.”

Juugo’s head snapped up from where he was pulling chains off of cell doors.  “Do you trust them?”

“I trust the Hokage, yes.  They’re expecting you.”

“And Orochimaru?”

“Leave him to my brother,” Itachi replied nonchalantly, smirking.  Juugo felt his brows furrowing in confusion.

“I thought your brother was dead?”

“Not exactly.  Kabuto’s the reason that he’s got a body back.”

Juugo felt a small smile of triumph spreading over his lips as Itachi explained the events of the last two days.  The tangle of worry in his stomach eased as prisoners began to spill out of the cells, eager to listen to instructions. 

“Good.  I’m tired of waiting.”

* * *

 

Fugaku twisted and turned in his too-soft bed, unable to keep his nightmares at bay.  Orochimaru’s voice whispered to him, tempting him to obey the sound.

**_“Leave the village.”_ **

_No._   He couldn’t do that.

**_“Leave the village, and come back to where you belong.  Back to me.”_ **

_No.  I won’t._

**_“Betray Tsunade, she’s going to turn her back on you anyways.  She’s a Senju; they’re always going to turn on the Uchiha.”_ **

His heartbeat accelerated, and he felt like his heart might beat out of his chest as he fought the voices in his mind. 

_No.  Stop asking me!_

**_“Sasuke and Itachi will kill you, and she’s going to offer you up on a silver platter.”_ **

_She wouldn’t do that, she has honor!  She won’t break her word._

**_“She kidnapped you, operated on you, and now she’s asking you to testify.  You’re a lamb led to the slaughter.  Only I can help you, give you the power that you need to take control.  You’re going to die for what you’ve done.”_ **

_No!  Leave me alone, demon!_

**_“Remember what she said to you?  If you really felt bad, you would give the eyes that you took back to Shisui.  She wants you to leave the confines of the village.”_ **

_Shut up!_  He silently roared, unable to fight the furious tears that streamed down his cheeks.  He sucked in a desperate breath of air as he forced his body to turn over onto his back.  He’d lost more mobility; he was barely able to move his right arm.  Throwing a hand over his eyes, he resisted the urge to scream.  Reaching over to the bedside table with fumbling fingers, he gulped down the glass of water that Neji had left for him.

Dimly, he could hear the sounds of Guy, Rock Lee, and Kiba playing cards. They were laughing uproariously and frequently, enjoying their evening far more than he was.

It was all that he could do to keep his mind intact, more and more of his sanity was being washed away with each passing day. 

He couldn’t silence all of the voices.  There was one sentence that played on a loop, and he was finding it harder and harder to resist the pull of its commands.

**_“Leave the village, go to Shisui’s grave.”_ **

**_“Leave the village, go to Shisui’s grave.”_ **

**_“Leave the village, go to Shisui’s grave.”_ **

**_“Leave the village, go to Shisui’s grave.”_ **

**_“Leave the village, go to Shisui’s grave.”_ **

* * *

 

Sasuke moved quickly, carefully, through the forest just outside of Orochimaru’s hideout.  He settled into the shadows to wait, annoyed that Itachi had insisted on going in first.  He’d wanted to arrive sooner, but he and Itachi had stopped several times to test his sharingan. 

He was pleased to know that it was in perfect condition.  Tsunade had done a good job preserving Itachi’s eyes.   _My eyes._

This body moved as well as his old one, in fact, it was almost faster.  His chakra store seemed to be larger than it used to be, he chalked it up to the sheer volume of chakra that Sakura had poured into the golem.  It made sense to him; he didn’t care to look into it further.  He wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Itachi had gone ahead to covertly speak with Juugo, but Sasuke couldn’t shake the suspicion that they were walking into a trap.  He was eager to get back to Konoha and end the fight with Fugaku, but he knew that timing was everything.  He could appreciate the strategy of a long game, but he wanted to get everything out in the open.

He didn’t like mind games.  It was easier to use physical force to solve problems than try to manipulate others where he wanted them to be.  There were too many variables.  He was annoyed by Itachi’s request, but knew that it was a necessary evil. 

His eyes narrowed as he caught wind of an unmistakeable chakra signature. 

_Here it comes.  Took him longer than I thought.  I was pushing my chakra out pretty far.  He's getting sloppy in his old age._

He didn’t move an inch as it crept closer, his annoyance increasing as it did.  He had no patience for dramatics.

“Orochimaru.”

His quiet greeting shot through the silence of the night, and he heard nothing for a moment.  He waited, his sharingan flooding across his eyes as he registered exactly where the chakra signature was coming from. 

Suddenly, two shining eyes appeared out of the darkness, growing larger as the Sannin lazily moved towards him.

Sasuke’s expression didn’t change as Orochimaru finally stepped into the moonlight, his reptilian eyes taking in every inch of his body.  A flash of revulsion made his lip curl; he’d always hated the strange, snakelike man.

“So,” Orochimaru’s soft word shattered the expectant silence between them, and he leered at Sasuke.  “You’re not dead after all.”

“No,” Sasuke answered shortly, not in the mood for wordplay. 

“Fascinating,” Orochimaru breathed, pacing slowly as he inspected Sasuke.  Ever mindful of Sakura’s plans, Sasuke mentally promised himself that he had to stay calm.  But, if Orochimaru got any closer or stepped over the line, all bets were off.

“You Uchiha always surprise me,” he continued, completely ignoring Sasuke’s warning look.  “Given your family’s tendency to kill each other off whenever they have the chance, I’ve never known one to come back from the dead with a sharingan.”

Sasuke ignored the barb, watching Orochimaru’s every movement.  “Get to the point.”

Orochimaru let out a long-suffering sigh, fixing Sasuke with what could only be described as a reptilian pout.  “Very well.  How did you survive?”

“I didn’t,” Sasuke said waspishly, deliberately not answering the question that Orochimaru was asking.  “I died.”

“Mhhm, yes I know that.  Let me rephrase, my cantankerous Sasuke, how did your consciousness end up in a body?”

“Sheer dumb luck.”

“Very well, I’ll find the answers on my own,” Orochimaru snapped, losing patience with his determination to evade the questions.  “Perhaps Sakura will answer them for me.”

His reply was meant to sound nonchalant, but all that Sasuke heard was the quiet threat behind his words.

“I’m sure she will, but you’re going to have to wait.”  Sasuke’s sharp reply made Orochimaru turn to look at him, an angry glint flashing across his glittering eyes.  It was nothing more than a shadow, but it was enough to tell Sasuke that Orochimaru was annoyed. 

“What?”

“She’s busy.” 

“Doing _what_?”

“She’s taking care of some loose ends.”

Sasuke brushed past Orochimaru, heading towards the entrance to the hideout.  In his mind, he had firmly put an end to the conversation, but Orochimaru had other plans.

“Tell me why you’d want to help Konoha.”

“What?”

“Konoha signed your death warrant, allowed your father to send you to your death, did nothing to avenge you, is sheltering your father, and is using your death as an excuse to sentence Itachi and Sakura to death.  I’ll ask again: why would you want to help Konoha?”

Gone was the teasing, mocking Sannin.  He’d been replaced by a cold, calculating creature with eyes as hard as ice.  Sasuke knew that Orochimaru for once wasn’t trying to provoke him.  There was something that he wanted.  Desperately.

“I don’t.”

“No?  Well, well, well, won’t Itachi and Sakura be surprised.  They’re trying to use me as much as they’re using you to get what they want.  Their precious Konoha is threatened; they’ll do whatever they have to in order to protect their friends.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”  His furious reply seemed to satisfy Orochimaru, and a satisfied smile crept across his mouth. 

“Oh Sasuke, you’re always the last person told about their plans, aren’t you?”

“If you say one more word-“ Sasuke found himself growling, his teeth gnashing together with fury.  His sharingan began to spin, his pulse thundered in his veins, and he felt his palms begin to sweat.  His fingers twitched, as if to reach for a kunai, which seemed to amuse Orochimaru even further. 

“Now, now, Sasuke.  I’m not going to fight you; I have an offer for you.”

Sasuke didn’t make a sound.  He glared at the reptilian kingpin, who calmly inspected his nails, drawing out the silence.

“You want to destroy your father and those who were responsible for all of your suffering.  I can give you the strength that you’ve always craved.  It’s your turn to come out on top.”

“How?”  Sasuke couldn’t help the question that left his mouth, hating that Orochimaru seemed to know exactly what to say to get under his skin.

“You’ve seen what Juugo can do, aren’t you curious to see what kind of power you could wield if you combine that strength with your sharingan?”

“Go on.” 

* * *

Raiton paced, around, and around, and around.  He paused only to spit on the ground, ignoring the disgusted glance that his jailer threw at him.  He didn't give a shit.  All that he cared about was his daughter. 

All of this had started when Orochimaru had taken her.  He had been content to run mercenary work, making enough money to live modestly.  He hadn't asked for the psychopathic snake-man to just show up and destroy his life. 

He hadn't had any news about her in nearly two months, and it was driving him insane.  

He flung himself down on his small cot, cradling his head in his hands.  He prayed for a moment, entreating any god who was listening to save his daughter.  _I will do anything, even sacrifice my own life.  Just keep her safe_.

Out of nowhere, he felt a small pinprick on his back, like a bug bite.  

_No!  I didn't betray him!_

Suddenly, he gasped and fell forwards onto the ground.  His shoulder began to burn like he was on fire, and he tore desperately at his clothes.  His shirt ripped, but it did nothing to ease the agony that began to quickly spread out from his shoulder blade.  Flame-like marks shaped like tomoes seared across his skin, and he felt his bones breaking and his skin tearing apart as he writhed. 

He could faintly hear shouting as his cell was unlocked and his guards tried to administer help, but he was too far gone. 

Everything faded to black, and then there was nothing. 

* * *

 

Kakashi pressed a hand to his walkie-talkie, flabberghasted by what he was hearing.  "Neji, slow down.  What happened?"

_"Sir, both Raiton and the steward are dead."_

"How?" 

_"They were marked.  Their curse marks were activated.  Neither of them survived."_

Kakashi thought for a moment.  "I thought that they were thoroughly searched." 

_"They were.  We knew that Kasumi had one, but Raiton's was hidden.  Our containment jutsu for Kasumi failed, he died almost instantly."_

"That's not good.  Have Tsunade take a look at the bodies when you've got a chance." 

He sat back in his chair and stared out into the night, thinking hard.  _So Orochimaru can activate the curse marks remotely.  There go our two witnesses for Tsunade's case.  It looks like Naruto and Neji are going to have to testify._

_This is bad._

 


	35. Illusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke and Itachi make a critical decision. Konoha explodes into open chaos. Sakura finds an ally in an unlikely place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello, hello! Thank you so much for reading! The story is about to get loco, so I just wanted to pop in here and say that I appreciate every single one of your kudos/bookmarks/comments! They are 100% the validation chips that keep this little creative machine chugging! :)

Sasuke watched quietly from behind a tree, his expression impassive as Orochimaru continued to try and manipulate an invisible figure to betray Itachi and Sakura.  He fought the urge to roll his eyes as Orochimaru continued to speak animatedly, his reptilian eyes glittering as Sasuke’s illusion told him what he wanted to hear. 

He smirked, silently congratulating himself on his sharingan use.  This particular genjutsu was among one of the most clever that he’d ever come up with.  He watched, supplying just enough information to his illusion to keep Orochimaru talking. 

“I can offer you power, Sasuke.  My curse mark will unlock your ability to use senjutsu.  With your sharingan, you would be unstoppable.”

Sasuke’s illusion surveyed Orochimaru, his lip curling.  “For all intents and purposes, I’m already unstoppable.”

“Not against Itachi’s strength,” Orochimaru wheedled, his eyes shining with triumph as Sasuke directed his illusion’s eyes to widen and his arms to uncross. 

“So, what do you want from me?”  The illusion demanded, a muscle in his jaw working as the real Sasuke continued to watch with interest. 

“Ah, just one simple thing,” Orochimaru began, glancing at the illusion out of the corner of his eye.  “All that I need is Kabuto’s body.”

Sasuke paused, his eyebrow rising in surprise as he watched the Sannin’s body language.  He couldn’t figure out why Orochimaru was so desperately trying to bargain for the remains of a subordinate who had tried to betray him. 

“Why?”

“Tut, tut, Sasuke.  Learn to play the game a little, why don’t you.  Information is power, if you control the information, you control everything.” 

“You underestimate me,” Sasuke said flatly, trying to ignore the tiny voice in the back of his brain that told him to listen to Orochimaru, to take him up on his offer. 

_Sakura and Naruto will never forgive me if I choose that path._

Orochimaru chuckled softly, but there was no mirth in the sound.  “That’s some truth to that.  This is quite the genjutsu; you should be very impressed with yourself.”

Sasuke wasn’t surprised that Orochimaru had seen through his illusion; he was surprised by how long it took for him to do it.  He smoothly stepped out from his hiding spot, glaring at the snake-man with spinning scarlet eyes. 

“Answer the question.  I’m not my father, I don’t like games.”

Orochimaru rolled his eyes, surveying Sasuke with thinly veiled irritation.  “Fine.  Inside Kabuto’s body is a seal that I need.”

“That’s it?”

Sasuke couldn’t help the mocking smirk that spread over his lips.  “You want me to betray Itachi and Sakura for a seal?  You’re insane.”

“No one achieves greatness holding on to allies,” Orochimaru snapped peevishly, dropping the façade of friendliness altogether.  “Did Kabuto try to betray me, or does your precious brother seek to destroy me?”

Sasuke sensed something different about Orochimaru’s question; he decided to tread carefully. Something told him that his answer might decide Juugo’s fate.  “Kabuto betrayed you.”

Orochimaru made a sound that was somewhere between a hiss and a snarl.    

“You can’t be surprised,” Sasuke continued, very aware that his job was to keep Orochimaru occupied until Itachi was finished his task.  “He’s always had his own agenda.  He was just waiting for an opportunity to kill you.”  

Naturally, he didn’t mention that Juugo was about to do the same thing.  He wasn’t in the habit of telling anyone any secrets, so he allowed Orochimaru to process the information, waiting impatiently for the old man to get to the point of what he wanted. 

“Hm,” Orochimaru mused, turning away from Sasuke and clasping his arms behind his back.  “What makes you think that I didn’t know that Kabuto was treacherous?”

“I don’t care enough.  You got your answer.”

“Indeed.  My offer is still on the table.  I don’t need to remind you that you stand in a very precarious position.  You will be used by both sides as a means to an end.”

“Fine, I’ve made my decision.”

“Oh?”  Orochimaru’s expression turned even more predatory (Sasuke didn’t know how that was possible) and he turned expectantly.  “You’ve just turned the tide, Sasuke-“

“No fucking way.  That’s my answer.” 

Sasuke’s tone left no room for negotiation, and his mangekyou whirred to life as he stared the Sannin down.  “If I ever took you up on an offer I would end up dead again, and I’m not too keen on repeating the experience.”

“No?  It wasn’t, how should I put this…educational?”

“I’d be more than happy to show you what death’s like,” Sasuke muttered through clenched teeth.  “The answer is no.”

Orochimaru’s fists clenched and he turned to fully face Sasuke, danger and intimidation seeping out of every pore.  “I had assumed that you were intelligent, clearly I was wrong.  You’re of no use to me alive if you aren’t on my side,” he spat, his eyes hardening with each passing second. 

Sasuke felt the glowing cinder of anger within him flare to life, pouring his resentment and frustration into his chakra streams.  His sharingan spun faster, creating a hypnotizing display.  He felt his lip curling upwards in a snarl as Orochimaru dropped into a defensive stance, his chakra spiking as he moved. 

“Everything is crumbling down around you, old man,” Sasuke bit out, intent on riling the Sannin up enough that he’d attack.  “You know that you can’t win alone, you’re weak.”

_It’s too easy._  

He didn’t flinch as Orochimaru’s expression pinched with fury and his eyes narrowed to slits.  Waves of poisonous chakra washed over him, but he simply concentrated.  He didn’t even see Orochimaru’s hands move, he was surprised by the appearance of several snakes, their bodies undulating and writhing like they were made of smoke. 

He didn’t move a muscle.   He didn’t need to. 

The mangekyou conjured a translucent figure around him, and he smirked in triumph.  Orochimaru’s snakes bounced harmlessly off the shield, and Sasuke breathed in the burnt-sugar aroma of Susanoo.  It had been far too long since he’d felt this strong, and he intended to use every ounce of his anger to fuel his fight. 

He looked out past the blue-tinted shield and smirked; his expression was openly mocking. 

Orochimaru’s eyes flashed with anger and he threw his head back, opening his mouth impossibly wide.  Sasuke watched, still safely ensconced behind his shield, as Orochimaru drew a full sword from his mouth, spinning it in the familiar wind-stance sword form. 

Sasuke’s mouth turned up in a smirk as he let Susanoo ebb away, drawing his own sword. 

Out of nowhere, he felt like the air had been sucked out of his lungs and he was falling.  He gasped for air, stuck in a moment of panic that sent his heartbeat into overdrive. 

He thought that he was dying again.   _No, Orochimaru didn’t even get close to me!_

Then, suddenly, he found himself in a world that was devoid of colour, spinning angrily around in circles as he realized what was happening.  His arms were rigidly clamped to his sides, and he couldn’t move them.  He struggled against the bindings, knowing exactly what was happening but was powerless to stop it. 

Orochimaru laughed maniacally, but he made no sound.  Sasuke glanced up as Itachi’s figure appeared out of the brightness, the only thing in colour. 

“That’s enough.”

Itachi’s soft command ripped through the deafening silence of the Tsukuyomi, making Sasuke flinch, as if to cover his ears.  He felt the bubble of rage inside him dissipating, replaced by the dull ache of frustration. 

If he’d had five more minutes he would have killed Orochimaru and saved them all a lot of trouble.

“We’re not going to get anything done by fighting,” Itachi continued, pacing around them both and surveying them with a dark look in his eye.  “Stand down, Sasuke.”

Sasuke glared at his brother, and then felt his expression soften.  “Let me go.”

Itachi didn’t comment, but the ropes that constrained him fell away.  He knew that he was in an illusion, but he couldn’t help rubbing the burns that he’d sustained while struggling against his bonds.  He suppressed a flicker of annoyance, focusing instead on Orochimaru, who watched them with a greedy look in his eye.

“So, the brothers are reunited at last,” he purred, surveying them with an unreadable expression on his waxy face.  “What a treat.”

Itachi didn’t react, his gaze simply flicked over Orochimaru like he was a mildly interesting bug.  “I’m losing my patience.  We move on Konoha within the week.”

“Why so anxious, Itachi?”  Orochimaru’s question was quick; he didn’t bother to hide his interest. 

Itachi finally turned to face the Sannin, and his expression darkened.  Sasuke couldn’t help the tiny shiver that shot down his spine and through his knees as he felt the chakra that enveloped them change, turning dark and viscous. 

He’d only felt Itachi’s chakra do this once before, and he’d died shortly afterwards. 

“No thanks to you, our father is dying.  You won’t rob me of my opportunity to kill him myself,” he said shortly, already turning to stride out of the illusion.  “You have four days to organize your men and supplies.  I won’t wait.”

Without another word, he purposefully walked away, motioning subtly for Sasuke to follow him.  Sasuke obliged, feeling like he was somehow missing a part of the equation as the genjutsu shattered around them.  He blinked, suddenly overwhelmed by the bright moonlight that streamed down from the sky. 

Orochimaru’s shoulders shook with laughter as he recovered from the Tsukuyomi, a small rivulet of blood running down from the corner of his mouth. 

“Excellent.  I trust that you’ll still consider my offer, Sasuke.  I admire the seething anger within you,” he glanced at Itachi, whose stony expression didn’t invite any further conversation, “…it’s a family trait, I see.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Sasuke said stiffly, silently commanding his sharingan to recede as Orochimaru walked quickly into the night.  He waited for the slimy chakra signature to fade away before he turned on Itachi, an enraged flush spreading over his cheekbones.

“What the fuck was that?”

“I could ask you the same question.”  Itachi’s calm reply did nothing to subdue Sasuke’s irritation, and he made a small sound of derision.

“I would have killed him if you hadn’t stopped me-“

“What makes you think that you could?  If the Third Hokage was unable to kill him, do you honestly think that he could be taken down by one person?” 

Sasuke grudgingly had to admit that Itachi was right, but his pride reared its ugly head and he crossed his arms.  “He offered me a curse mark.  He wanted me to betray you, so no thanks for backing me up.”

Itachi stiffened, throwing an arm out to stop Sasuke from moving away. 

“Don’t let him do it,” he murmured quietly, his voice trembling ever so slightly with barely-suppressed rage.  “Even if you don’t die, he’ll be able to take your body over once his chakra has been processed by your system.”

Taken aback, Sasuke bit back a furious comment, forcing his brain to think rationally. “He wanted a backup in case Fugaku didn’t work out.”

“I assume so, that’s what I would do.”  Itachi let out a short breath; it was a humourless laugh.  “Believe me, I’d be more than happy to kill him, but we need him for a few more days.”

“He knows that you’re still allied with Konoha.”

Itachi didn’t say anything for a moment, just looked at him with a strange look in his eye.  Sasuke suddenly realized that he hadn’t included himself in that statement, so he hastily amended it.  “I mean, we’re still allied with them.”

“Old habits die hard,” Itachi replied, his tone perfectly neutral. “We’ve made no secret of it.  My goal is to use him as much as he’s using us.  Our respective motivations no longer matter.”

“And Sakura?”

Itachi glanced at him in surprise, a faint line appearing between his brows.  “What about her?”

“Does she know that you feel that way?”

“She does, however, there are several things that she isn’t privy to.  The luxury of not being an Uchiha,” he admitted, the corner of his mouth ticking up.

Sasuke had to agree.  There were some things that couldn’t be explained. 

“Your sharingan is working flawlessly,” Itachi commented, obviously changing the subject.  Sasuke let him, passing a hand over his face.  “Yeah, so far.  I haven’t tried everything yet.”

His last statement was accompanied by a wolfish grin.  Itachi smirked, turning away and waving at him. 

“Come with me, we should continue to practice fighting together.  That should keep you distracted; I will intervene if you attack Orochimaru again.  Leave him to Naruto.”

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he trotted after his brother. 

“What about your part of the plan?”

Itachi smirked, his dark eyes glittering with triumph.  “It’s done.  Well done, by the way.  You kept Orochimaru occupied for more than enough time.”

“Yeah, I know,” Sasuke grumbled in response, brushing past Itachi to unsheathe a kunai.  He flipped it around his fingers, getting used to the weight of it again.  His body thrummed with energy, and he felt the familiar rush of excitement winding through his veins as Itachi did the same, holding the kunai point down. 

“Be ready for anything.  In the meantime, you need to work on guarding your left arm; it’s your weak spot.”

Sasuke groaned inwardly, somehow feeling like nothing had changed.  _It’s gonna be a long night._

* * *

 

The sun burst through the clouds, bathing the tea shop in soft, golden light.  Steam drifted lazily into the air, and a gentle breeze rustled through the awnings of the shop, making the sunlight dance erratically on the walls. 

Sakura sighed contentedly, stuffing a sandwich into her mouth and chewing enthusiastically.  She could feel some of her energy returning, which was a relief.  Her muscles were still extremely painful, but moving helped to ease her aching body. 

Moving slowly and deliberately, she picked up her food and made her way back to the inn.  Absently, she held her arm out for Itachi’s crow clone as she slumped down on the bed.  It stared at her, unmoving.

Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair.  _It’s weird, I shouldn’t be disappointed that he’s not perching on me like Sasuke used to.  It’s a different crow._

_I hope they’re okay._

She settled back against the pillows and closed her eyes.  She wasn’t quite asleep, but her body relaxed gratefully into the soft bedding and the warmth streaming in from the open window lulled her immediately into the place between a deep sleep and a doze. 

She was so tired that she didn’t even sense the presence in the room until it was too late.  Her chakra stores were still too low to allow her to defend herself. 

Itachi’s crow squawked loudly, shattering the quiet of the room. 

Her eyes shot open as she registered a dark shape moving across her closed eyelids; she’d only noticed him because he’d been silhouetted against the light streaming in from the window. 

She struggled to her feet, barely escaping the grasp of her attacker.  She tried to force her exhausted muscles to move, grunting with the effort. 

A surprised gasp left her lips as she felt the sudden pain of a blow to the left side of her head.  She crumpled to the ground, rapidly falling unconscious as a dark figure knelt down beside her, checking for a pulse. 

She barely caught a glimpse of her attacker’s face before everything went black.  The ANBU mask was a cat, not one that she’d ever seen before. 

As soon as she had passed out, the Konohagakure shinobi hoisted her over his shoulder, throwing a perfectly aimed kunai at Itachi’s crow.  It passed straight through the clone, destroying it and creating a large puff of grey smoke.  Sakura’s hair cascaded down around her face as the assailant adjusted her position to a fireman’s carry and darted down the hallway and out the door of the inn. 

There was nothing left in the room to signal that anything was amiss.  The kidnapping had happened quickly and silently, the mark of a talented shinobi.

The ANBU operative glanced over his shoulder as he made for Konoha, moving so quickly that the forest around them was a blur.  The visible slit of his eye narrowed as he took stock of Sakura’s injuries.  Without comment, he adjusted her unconscious form so that he was cradling her in his arms and picked up speed.   _I’m sorry, Sakura.  I owe you a lot, but I can’t disobey Konoha’s orders._

He had to ignore the fact that she’d saved his life twice.  Now wasn’t the time to be sentimental.

Yamato continued on, periodically checking her bleeding head wound.  He patched up the pressure cut as best he could for the moment and kept moving as quickly as possible.  He had orders to be back to Konoha before dark; there was something important that his superiors needed to find out from her.  He wasn’t privy to all of the reasons for wanting her in for questioning, but his instincts were telling him that something bad was about to happen.

He wasn’t in the habit of ignoring those instincts.  Slowing down, he settled Sakura down on the ground and quickly made a few hand signs.  A wood clone formed instantly, blinking in the afternoon light.

“Hey.  Find Itachi.  Tell him that Konoha has Sakura, he might want to hurry up,” he said bluntly, watching as the clone took off immediately.  The drain on his chakra wasn’t a concern; Sakura was in no shape to fight him.

Distantly, he wondered how the hell she’d depleted her chakra stores so badly.  He’d only seen Kakashi as weak as she was now once, and that was after using his sharingan too much.  Satisfied that he’d managed to work around ANBU’s rules enough to potentially save her life, he scooped her back up and continued to run.

He reached the village by sundown, an hour ahead of schedule.  He watched as she was taken to one of the interrogation rooms and assigned a medic to revive her. 

Tenzou couldn’t ignore the pit of dread that settled in his stomach as he watched the interrogators latch a pair of chakra-neutralizing bracers onto her limp wrists.  The quiet click was disconcerting; a shinobi without the ability to use their chakra was likely to panic.  According to rumour, she’d been able to break out of a pair of these handcuffs before, but he wasn’t sure that he believed that.

He would have to work extremely hard to break them, even working at full capacity.  Sakura was currently so weak that she didn’t have a chance.  The guards left the room, leaving only him and the medic to deal with Sakura.  He couldn’t put his finger on it, but there was something about the medic that they’d chosen that made him pause.  Finally, it came to him. 

_Oh, that’s clever.  There’s something else going on here, as always.  Interesting._

The quiet hum of healing chakra thrummed through the air as the medic worked to wake Sakura up.  Tenzou was lost in thought, debating whether he should also send a message to Kakashi.  Old alliances ran deep, and he knew that the Hokage should know that an international criminal was currently undergoing the torture of interrogation under his village. 

He was pulled back to the present as Sakura’s eyes flew open and she let out a gasp of pain.  He knew from experience that she likely had a splitting headache after he’d knocked her out.  He fought the urge to wince as her sudden movement reopened her head wound, spilling blood down her cheek and down her neck. 

_That’s gotta hurt._

He stood perfectly still, his body taut as the medic turned interrogator began to work.  _I’m sorry._

* * *

 

Sakura’s eyes flew open, and she let out an involuntary gasp of pain as her head wound throbbed.  She felt the warm spill of blood weaving down her cheek, stinging as it poured into the corner of her still-irritated eye.  She fought the dizziness that threatened to drown her, forcing herself to focus on the face of the person who held a kunai close to her jugular.

Blinking hard, she was finally able to sharpen the features of the woman standing in front of her.  Her eyes widened slightly as she recognized Ino, her heartbeat accelerating as her old friend stared at her with a look of such hatred that she wanted to disappear. 

Suddenly, Ino’s expression softened and she winked.  As quickly as it had appeared, her conspiratorial expression was gone.  She wasn't in any real danger, for now.  

Sakura nodded slightly, aware of the intelligence officials sitting behind a two-way mirror on the opposite wall.  Ino took a deep, calming breath right before she mouthed a silent “I’m sorry, play along” and then she reared her arm back and slapped Sakura hard across the face. 

“Wake up!  I’m talking to you!”

She barely felt the pain as her head snapped to the side, and a small spray of blood from her wound marked the floor with shining scarlet beads. 

“I’m awake.  You can stop hitting me,” she muttered, trying to flick the blood out of her eyes as she played along.  “You’ve been wanting to do that for a long time, haven’t you?  Is it payback for me not being able to save Sasuke?”

“Shut up.”

“Make me,  _Pig_.  You’re just jealous that I got my hands on an Uchiha and you didn’t.”

“You little-“

Ino’s eyes narrowed, and Sakura nodded, almost imperceptibly.  Ino’s hand flew out, the kunai nicking the corner of Sakura’s ear.  It wasn’t much of a wound, but blood sprayed across the floor.  To anyone watching from behind Ino, it would look like she’d done some decent damage to Sakura’s face.   Sakura had to fight to contain the sly grin that threatened to spread over her mouth. 

Ino could have cut in her a bad spot, but she didn't.  Inwardly, she thanked any divine force that was listening that Ino had managed to get herself into this interrogation.  Then, her thoughts wandered to Itachi and Sasuke, and her stomach dropped into her knees.

_Oh shit.  As soon as they find out about this, it’s all going to hell. I don't know what Itachi is going to do when he finds out that I'm here._

She forced her ribcage to cave inwards slightly as Ino drove her fist into the intercostal muscles on her left side.  Ino completely pulled the punch, only hitting hard enough to make a convincing sound.  Sakura’s muscles were still so sore that it still felt like she’d been hit with a chunk of concrete, and her gasp of pain was audible. 

She quickly spread some of the blood from her cheek over her teeth with her tongue, spitting out a mouthful of pink-tinged saliva.  Her performance was almost too good, Ino’s eyes widened slightly in alarm as she caught sight of the blood in Sakura’s mouth.

“Oww,” Sakura said plaintively, raising her eyebrow and trying to look injured.  Her gaze flicked over to the corner of the room where the shadowy figure of her kidnapper still stood. 

Ino winced slightly, darting a glance at the motionless ANBU operative.  “I’m going to need a few things to break her.  My father will know what supplies to send here.”

When he didn’t move, Ino whirled and planted her hands on her hips.  “I can handle her, just get moving!  Do you want to explain to your superiors that you delayed the interrogation?”

Silently, he eased off the wall and left, opening a door hidden in shadow on the left side of the room.  Ino hurriedly made a few hand signs, indicating to Sakura that she was about to enter her mind. 

“This is going to hurt,” she warned, her expression hardening.  “I’m going to make this difficult for you.”

Sakura almost smiled as Ino stuck her tongue out at her; her back was to the mirror, all that the security teams would see was Ino preparing to take over Sakura’s body.  Sakura was no stranger to this technique, in fact, she had helped Ino practice and get good enough to transfer her consciousness while running at top speed.   The trick was to do it somewhere where Ino’s unconscious body wasn’t going to fall off a cliff or into a river.

She knew full well that there was no pain associated with this technique unless Ino wanted to inflict it. 

Ino sat down in a waiting chair, settling herself into a comfortable position as she took aim. 

Sakura closed her eyes and waited.  Immediately, it felt like she’d been dipped in cold water as Ino’s jutsu was activated.  Ino’s body slumped down opposite her, and she fought to breathe normally as she felt the fog of Ino’s technique descend over her conscious mind.

_“Hey, Pig.  You okay?”_

_“Yeah, you’ve got big problems, Forehead.  I practically had to bribe my way in here.  There’s no telling what someone else would have done to try and get information out of you.”_

_“How did they know where I was?”_

_“I don’t know.  I think they’ve had teams searching for you guys ever since…well since Konohamaru-“_

_“Ah.  Yeah I can see why.”_

_“Damn it, Sakura!  How did you get caught?”_

_“Did you sense a huge chakra burst two nights ago?”_ Sakura asked tiredly, berating herself for not doing a better job of hiding what they had done.

_“Whoa, yes!  Is that why you’re so weak?  Your chakra is way lower than you like it to be.”_

_“It’s hard to explain.  But Sasuke is alive.  He’s got a body now.”_

_“What?!  How?!”_

_“When we get out of here I’ll tell you everything.  Is everyone else okay?  Is Tsunade-sama okay?”_

Ino’s voice whispered in her mind, conjuring images of arguing council members and a frantic Tsunade.  Sakura’s stomach dropped as Ino showed her countless images of her friends and teammates struggling to keep the village under control.  Rage flowed through her veins as she watched Ino’s memories of Tsunade attempting to heal Fugaku. 

“ _Easy, Sakura.  He’s actually helping us out a lot.”_

_“You weren’t there when Sasuke died.  Fugaku hunted Itachi and I, he doesn’t deserve your pity.”_

Sakura couldn’t help her furious reply, frustrated by the situation that she was in. 

Ino sighed, and Sakura could feel her mental eye roll.   _“I’m going to ignore that for right now and show you what the plan is.”_

If Sakura could have raised her eyebrows in surprise, she would have.  Tsunade and Naruto’s jutsu would be powerful enough to obliterate Orochimaru as long as he didn’t have the mangekyou’s Susanoo to protect him.  She breathed a silent sigh of relief; she and Itachi wouldn’t have to worry about sending their friends to their deaths because Orochimaru was too powerful to handle.

_“Yeah, I was worried about that too.  If old Sarutobi wasn’t enough to kill him for real, we’ve got a bad fight coming.”_

Sakura had almost forgotten that Ino was inside her head, and she determinedly thought about anything and everything other than Itachi.  Now was not the time to gossip about her personal life.  Her mission was the most important thing at the moment. 

Of course, Ino noticed.   _“Wow, Sakura, you haven’t just been working to stop the Akatsuki, you’ve been getting busy with Sasuke’s brother?!  No way, you need to spill every single detail!  Is he as good as they say-“_

_“Ino!  Focus!  I’m literally in handcuffs and you want to talk about my sex life?”_

_“Well, actually, it’s very apropos, now that you mention it-“_

_“Shut up!  Tell me what’s happening at the council meeting instead, please? I promise that I will tell you everything later,”_  she entreated, trying to calm her racing mind. 

Ino’s questions had brought several choice memories to mind, completely unbidden.  She knew that Ino’s mouth would have hit the floor if she’d been in her own body, and she couldn’t help the flicker of satisfaction that was rooted in her belly as Ino caught a glimpse of what it was like to know Itachi well. 

_“Damn, he’s fine.  Okay, yeah.  So, Shikamaru came up with a plan to tell the council that Fugaku’s left the village looking for Orochimaru.”_

_“Do you think that it’ll work?”_

_“Honestly, I don’t know.  Hang on; I have to make it look like you’re suffering.  Can you cry at will?”_

_“What?  No, I cry enough as it is, what are you-“_  Sakura cut off abruptly as Ino forced her head down, whacking her forehead against the metal table in front of her.  She aimed at a good angle, it didn’t hurt. 

_“Whoops!”_ Ino chirped in her head. 

But the sound of her skull hitting the table rang through the room and Sakura had to admit that she was impressed.  That is, until Ino bit the inside of her cheek so hard that she tasted the iron tang of blood.  Her body’s physical reaction was to create huge, hot tears of pain, spilling down her cheeks and mixing with the blood that was still drying on her face and neck.

_“Ow!  What the hell?!”_

_“I’m sorry, it had to look believable!  If your hands were free I would have yanked out a nose hair or something-“_

“Ugh, fine.  It worked.  I’m crying now,” Sakura thought sullenly, watching her disheveled appearance in the glass.  She looked a terrible mess; her dyed hair was matted with blood and she looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks. 

_“Great.  I can get you into that meeting, but you have to keep up the injured and broken act,”_  Ino said confidently, conjuring up an image of Tsunade standing nervously in front of the entire council.   _“I think they were going to try and spill as much information as possible before dropping the Fugaku bomb.”_

Sakura was overcome with a bright feeling of hope, her heartbeat increased as she thought about the potential ramifications of such a frank discussion with the council.   _“So it’s possible that they’ll know that I didn’t actually betray Konoha?”_

_“It’s possible,”_ Ino replied slowly, although her tone didn’t really imply that she was feeling that Sakura’s odds of a pardon were good.  _“Be prepared for the worst though.”_

_“Thanks, Ino.  If it were anyone else in here I would probably be dead,”_  she thought honestly, very grateful that her friend had been willing to do anything to help her. 

_“Yeah, you owe me a drink.”_   Ino’s voice was already fading away as the slippery, cold feeling of her jutsu suddenly lifted. 

Sakura blearily opened her eyes as Ino stood up and addressed the glass panel, businesslike once more.  “Hey, I need to get her to the Hokage.  She knows what Orochimaru’s planning.”

The door burst open and Sakura barely had time to process what was happening as her arms were seized in iron grips and she was pulled to her feet.  Ino marched alongside her as she was towed towards the council meeting.

She couldn’t allow herself to hope just yet, she didn’t know what kind of scene she’d be walking into. 

* * *

 

Tsunade’s head was in her hands.  She was exhausted after telling the whole story of Sasuke’s death and Sakura’s escape.  The room had exploded with frantic whispers, and the volume was steadily rising as council members and the clan elders argued amongst themselves. 

Abruptly, the talking stopped as Kakashi held up a hand, his silent authority spreading through the room faster than any spoken command would have. 

“Tsunade-sama, tell us again what Sakura and Itachi’s mission was.”

She glanced at him, silently thanking him for moderating the meeting.  Half of the room believed her, and the other half was convinced that she was attempting to take back her position as Hokage.  Tsunade wasn’t quite sure what she really wanted, but it didn’t matter.  Konoha had to come first.

“I assigned them the mission of infiltrating the Akatsuki and stopping any attack that Orochimaru was planning to throw our way.”

Kakashi didn’t wait for the occupants of the room to start speaking again, stepping smoothly into the role of a calm, curious member of the council.  “What did you discover?”

Tsunade hesitated, trying to word her response properly.  _Any wrong move could spell disaster for the Uchiha._

“They uncovered a plot to destroy Konoha from the inside.  Fugaku Uchiha has been conspiring with Orochimaru for years.  However, what happened wasn’t entirely his fault, as hard as it is for me to admit that.  It’s no secret that I would have gladly had him removed from the council if I could manage it.”

Inwardly, she let out a relieved sigh.  It felt pretty damn good to tell the truth for once.  The political game was exhausting and she was tired of keeping so many secrets. 

This time, Kakashi actually had to stand up and shout to calm the room.  “Council members, you forget that you aren’t here to tell us your opinion.  This is an official investigation meeting.” 

He waved at Tsunade to continue.  Sighing deeply, she crossed her arms.  “Orochimaru has quite steadily been poisoning Fugaku for nearly two decades.  You witnessed his illness at the last meeting, I assure you at it is very advanced.  His cognitive function is severely impaired.”

“So, what you’re saying is that he is not altogether responsible for his actions?”  Kakashi pressed, the look in his eye unreadable as he sat back down and scanned the room.  “Would you take the Uchiha clan to task for the actions of its leader?”

“I wouldn’t,” she responded immediately. 

“So, what you propose is the incarceration of Fugaku Uchiha until we are in a position to deal with the consequences of his actions.  Orochimaru is our most pressing concern.”

“Correct-“

Tsunade was about to continue when the door to the council room screeched open and Shikamaru strode into the meeting, ignoring the protests of the guards stationed at the door.  He walked right up to Kakashi and whispered something in his ear.  Kakashi’s visible eye widened, and Tsunade’s blood ran cold.

Something was wrong.   

Kakashi abruptly stood up, addressing the uncharacteristically silent room.  “Fugaku Uchiha is missing.  He escaped from the safehouse where he’d taken refuge barely an hour ago.  Might Gai, Rock Lee, and Kiba Inuzuka are currently in transport to the hospital.”

The room exploded with exclamations of shock and outrage.  The council had reacted about as when as she'd expected them to, given the stakes. 

Tsunade almost laughed, relieved that everything was going to plan.  She grinned crookedly at Shikamaru as he walked up to her, impressed that his plan had actually worked.  “Nice job, kid.  You had me fooled-“

She cut off as she caught sight of the look on Shikamaru’s face.  Her heart skipped a beat, and she grabbed him by the shoulders in her panic.  “He’s gone?!  What the hell happened?!”

“He used his mangekyou on them,” Shikamaru said quietly, his voice so quiet that she could barely hear him over the roar of the council chamber.  “They’re all unconscious.  Naruto found them on his way here.  He stopped to check on them, and to get their story straight before we dropped the bomb.  The house was wide open.”

Tsunade swore, loudly and vigorously as she began to pace, trying to find a solution.  “We need to get as many shinobi out there as we can to look for him.  If he’s trying to get back to Orochimaru, we’re all screwed.”

Kakashi finally managed to calm the room, raising his voice just enough to be heard.  “That’s enough.  We can argue about what to do with him later, we just need to find him.”

“Listen up!”  Tsunade roared over the clamour, drawing all eyes back to her.  “Clan leaders, to me!  ANBU squads are to leave all non-critical missions and spread out in the surrounding areas!  Seal the village, no one goes in or out until we find him!"

Unbidden, a crowd gathered around Tsunade as she instinctively began to give commands and delegate tasks to trustworthy members of the council.  She’d seamlessly taken up her mantle again, and no one was willing to try to stop her.  Kakashi was more than happy to sit down and let her take charge.  He was too busy trying to figure out a way to get a message to Sakura. 

The door burst open again, and Tsunade heard herself saying “Oh,  _now_  what?!”  as if from a distance. 

Her heart leapt into her throat as she recognized Sakura, who was being dragged into the room by two burly interrogators.  Ino Yamanaka led the group into the room, and then determinedly made her way over to Kakashi (whose expression was openly shocked). 

_What?!_

Tsunade didn’t need to see under his mask to know that his jaw had dropped.  She didn’t wait; instead she darted over to Sakura and forcefully removed her from the grips of the ANBU operatives.  Her expression allowed no room for protest, and she dismissed them quickly, forgetting that she wasn’t the Hokage anymore. 

Kakashi finally regained his wits and seconded her command, ignoring the enraged yelling of the council members as kunai were whipped out of their sheaths and the hum of activated chakra filled the room. 

Sakura smiled weakly at Tsunade, barely able to keep her footing as Tsunade swept her into a hug.  “Tsunade-sama, I’m home.”

* * *

 

Sasuke laughed, dodging yet another of Itachi’s attacks.  “You’re going to have to do better than that!”

“I’m not even trying-“

Itachi cut off as a crow puffed into existence, squawking loudly.  Sasuke couldn’t hear what it said from where he was standing, but Itachi’s shoulders stiffened and he turned immediately to face Sasuke. 

He was wearing an expression of open panic, which sent a bolt of ice straight through Sasuke’s veins.  He stood rooted to the spot as Itachi strode towards him, sheathing his sword and dismissing the crow.  Sasuke had never seen Itachi like this, pale and openly emotional. 

“Itachi-“

“They have Sakura.”  Itachi’s furious reply stunned him; he found himself with nothing to say.  “An ANBU operative with a cat mask knocked her out and took her back to Konoha.”

Sasuke watched as a mask of icy calm settled over Itachi.  His chakra, however, continued to swirl furiously around him, making every hair on the back of Sasuke’s neck stand up. 

This was bad.  This was exactly what he’d warned her about.  Sasuke didn’t know what Itachi would do.

“Well don’t just stand there, we have to _do_ something!” he blurted, crossing his arms and glaring at his brother.  “They’ll torture her.”

“I know,” Itachi’s eyes lost a fraction of their hard edge, and Sasuke didn’t miss the flash of desperation that flickered through his expression.  “They might kill her, if she doesn’t get the chance to explain to them why-“

“It doesn’t matter  _why_ ,” Sasuke snapped, running a hand through his hair, an anxious tick.  “We need to get her out of there.  They're not going to give her a chance to explain that she's one of the good guys.”

Itachi’s gaze locked onto his, and Sasuke nodded at the silent question that hung in the air between them.  “It’s time.  We move on Konoha now.”

“Sasuke-“

“No, Sakura’s life is in danger.  I’m not losing someone else because of Orochimaru and our father!  We need to get there as soon as we can.  The old snake will have less time to prepare if we move it up-“

“You’re right.”  Itachi’s quiet reply stopped Sasuke’s argument in its tracks.  He was surprised that it had been this easy, and yet, there was something about the set of Itachi’s jaw that worried him.

“Itachi, what aren’t you telling me?”

Itachi looked up, exposing the flinty look in his eyes.  “If we get to Konoha and she’s injured or dead, I want you to leave and get as far away from there as you can.  Understood?”

Sasuke nodded mutely, his mind whirring as he tried to decipher what Itachi was really saying.  “You’re going to do something stupid, aren’t you.”

Itachi didn’t say anything, just took off running.  Assaulted with a mixture of worry and the beginnings of fear, Sasuke followed.

_He’s going to unleash hellfire if she’s dead.  Hang on, Sakura.  You're too damn stubborn to go out like this._

_We’re coming._

 


	36. Hellfire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Orochimaru makes his move. Itachi is on the warpath. Sakura puts herself in harm's way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Holy cow, can you believe that this is chapter 36?! It's insane to think about, I've been writing this story for close to four years! I'm so excited for this chapter, I feel like things are finally (organically) where I want them to be for the climax of the story. Thank you so much to my readers for sticking around this long, you are appreciated far more than you know! I'd love to hear what you think of this chapter. ;)

Orochimaru couldn't feel the presence of the Uchiha brothers anymore.  Their chakra signatures had flickered out of range abruptly and completely. 

The absolutely lack of their chakra had him concerned.  They had to be moving quickly and in the opposite direction of his sanctuary to disappear so thoroughly.  

Idly, he wondered if they'd left for Konoha without him.  He dismissed the thought; they weren’t stupid enough to go up against the might of a hidden village without his help. 

He paced, thinking hard as he considered the reasons for their departure.  Sasuke's behavior was odd, even though he hardly knew the younger brother.  He knew that Sasuke wasn't of a steady, calm disposition, but he didn't seem like the type to invite open confrontation if he was at all unsure of a complete victory.  

_It takes guts to try to take me on.  What an interesting young man._

He could make something of Sasuke.  Orochimaru could mold him; he could shape Sasuke’s simmering anger into a weapon that would strike fear into even the most powerful shinobi.  That Uchiha rage was something that Orochimaru could refine.  

He would know, he'd been doing it for years.  

_He could achieve greatness working for me.  I would have another sharingan available to me when Fugaku's body gives out._

The thought ignited a pulsing current of dark glee in his chest, twisting and turning through his veins as his anticipation grew.  It was quickly snuffed out by his next thought, which made his face contort into a menacing grimace.  

_His brother is in my way._

He harbored an intense dislike for Itachi, even though he couldn't help but respect his abilities as a shinobi.  _He managed to subdue both Sasuke and I without even being in my sight line.  He must have placed us under his influence while Sasuke and I were talking._

He suddenly clued in; there was a large crow that had appeared out of nowhere and settled onto a branch above Sasuke's head as Orochimaru had summoned his sword.  

_Ah, that's how he did it.  Clever, clever Itachi. I didn't even sense him._

Itachi was dangerous, in many ways, and that made the Sannin wary of him.  He considered the possibility that Sasuke had been acting as a decoy, but that didn't quite make sense.  _Why would Itachi need time to himself in the hideout?_

_Sasuke may be more like Fugaku than his mother.  I can turn that to my advantage, now that he’s got a sharingan back and a powerful new vessel._

He'd suspected that Deidara's statue had been built with the sole purpose of giving Sasuke a body, but even he had been surprised by Sasuke's speedy return to the land of the living. 

_No, Sasuke must have been acting alone._

Itachi wouldn't take such a stupid risk; his weaknesses were obviously Sakura and his little brother.  He had to know that sending Sasuke to distract Orochimaru would carry the potential for Sasuke's (second, and official) death.

There was something going on without his knowledge, and he didn't like it one bit. He knew about their plans for Konoha, sure, he would have to be stupid to miss their blatant disapproval of the Akatsuki, but he was missing the critical puzzle piece.  

Sakura had to be the reason that Sasuke was alive.  She had the training and the medical expertise from Tsunade to build Sasuke a working body from the ground up.  He'd correctly guessed that Sasuke's chakra had been stored in the crow that had followed them around for months, but he was still missing something.  

_How did Sasuke survive in the first place?  My plan was perfect.  Tsunade must have had some part in foiling me._

He tapped one long finger against his chin, his dark expression pensive.  

_Her protege is equally as meddling, but I can use her.  She's been useful to me thus far; my problem is that she's still too loyal to Konoha.  It will take time, but I'll break her.  She'll understand my reasons, after she's seen the error of her ways._

He felt an intense rush of hatred at the thought of Tsunade, but it was tempered by his triumphant conclusion; he was going to rob Tsunade of her pupil and teach her to be far more powerful than she could have ever dreamed. 

Sakura's weakness was her empathy; it would be easy to force her to do his bidding.  He just had to wait for her to return.   She and Tsunade were too alike; what made them powerful shinobi was the same thing that would be their undoing.  He simply had to know when to twist the metaphorical knife.  

He still had Raiton's child in his grasp; he knew that it would be simple to act like he was going to hurt Yuki.  Sakura, whether she realized it or not, would jump between Orochimaru and the child out of desperation and fear for the child’s life. 

_It’s too easy.  She’ll make the choice, and she’ll join me._

That way, he would avoid Itachi's wrath; the Uchiha wouldn't attack if Sakura forbade him to.  He felt a pleasurable shiver roll down his spine; manipulation brought him a very unique rush of adrenaline.  

He was addicted to power.  Power over others, power over future events, and power over the mind were the cornerstones upon which he'd built his empire.  

Orochimaru felt absolutely no remorse over his murder of Konoha's hostages.  He'd activated their curse marks out of spite, furious over Kabuto's betrayal.  He didn't trust that the two captives wouldn't betray him; it didn't occur to him that Raiton was willing to die to save his daughter. 

He didn't care.  

Humming softly, he made his way to his chambers.  There was something still nagging at him; something was different about the base.  

The mountain was too quiet.  

He couldn't put his finger on it what it was that was bothering him.  Ignoring the constant, stabbing pain of his dying body, he turned on his heel and strode out of his chambers. 

He closed his eyes, wordlessly summoning Manda.  He didn't even need to sign a summoning jutsu at this point (which was good, because he would have struggled to control his hands; the necrosis had progressed even further), and he watched with some satisfaction as the large snake puffed into existence.  

Manda's eyes glittered as he swayed upwards, stopping when he could look Orochimaru in the eye. 

"What?"  He snapped, clearly unimpressed that he'd been disturbed.  

"Find out what's happening under my nose," the Sannin replied shortly, striding down a side corridor that led into the mountain without waiting for a reply.  Manda slithered along behind him, hissing with annoyance.  

"If you don't know what's happening in your organization-" 

Orochimaru stopped short, his chakra swirling around him in an angry whirlpool.  "Do as you're told.  I don't have time to waste." 

He strode downwards, intent on interrogating Juugo further about Kabuto's betrayal; the story wasn't quite making sense.  That had to be what was bothering him.  Juugo had to know something.

The torches had been snuffed out, and it was with a large helping of annoyance that Orochimaru lit one and continued on, his sandals clicking along the stone floor. 

He didn't require the light of the flames to see in the dark, but he savored the reaction of the test subjects when they caught sight of him striding towards their cells.  He relished the rush of power that he felt when he smelled their fear and desperation.  

It was oddly quiet.  He couldn't hear the usual symphony of quiet sobs and the clanking of manacles.  He didn't smell the comforting aroma of old blood, and the scuffing of callused feet on the floor.  

When he finally reached the level where the prisoners were, he paused. 

He suddenly knew exactly why Sasuke had provoked him.   _He was a distraction._  

Orochimaru let out a snarl of rage, darting into the holding cells to find that every single one was open.  The chains holding the iron bars shut had been snapped and the locked cells had been kicked open with enough force that the metal was warped and massively indented. 

 _Juugo did this._  

He could smell Itachi's scent all over the cells, and he slammed his fist into the wall with rage, splitting his knuckles and breaking his wrist.   The force of the blow radiated up his arm, shattering the bones all the way up to his elbow. 

Instead of slumping over in pain, he began to laugh.  It started as a dark chuckle, quickly evolving into a full-blown maniacal cackle.  He threw back his head, his wild eyes shining with madness. 

"Itachi," he snarled, making his way back through the cells, taking in every inch of the damage and tallying how many prisoners that the Uchiha had stolen from him.  

_One hundred and thirty three.  He's taken all of my research subjects from me.  He turned my most precious asset against me.  Juugo will have to die, horribly.  I don't need him anymore._

"You'll pay for this," he continued, speaking to no one as he strode back into the main hallway.  He glanced down at his damaged arm with disdain; it hung limply from his elbow.  Without breaking his stride, he reached down and ripped the arm off at the shoulder. 

The nearly-dead flesh came away easily, and he grunted in pain as blood began to pour down his side from his shoulder blade.  He almost considered going to see Sakura for medical attention, but then he stopped in his tracks.   She wasn't there. 

 _Clever little thing, she orchestrated this.  Itachi was her man on the ground.  She's the only one out of their little_ _cabal who would care enough to take my property from me._

"Sakura, you little weasel." 

He continued to talk animatedly to himself as he made his way through the entirety of the research lab, his arm dripping blood on every surface.  The madness that threatened to consume him rose to the surface as he calculated just how much had been stolen from him.  

"You killed Kabuto too," he said distractedly, spinning around to look as he heard the telltale sound of snake scales sliding towards him. "Manda, it's time." 

The snake didn't reply, simply watched Orochimaru with dislike.  

"We are going to take back what was taken from me," Orochimaru continued, regaining some of his rationality as he began to climb up the many flights of stairs that led back to the surface.  "You know what to do.  Summon our allies." 

Manda followed his master, his long, scaly body painting swathes of crimson blood across the ground as they climbed.  "You're treading dangerously close to getting yourself killed," he said, his tone colored with dark satisfaction.  

"I can't die," Orochimaru spat out through gritted teeth, clambering out of the darkness and heading straight for Deidara's workshop.  "I refuse to die.  This body is of no further use to me.  I need strength to get to Konoha.  I can take over Fugaku as soon as I get to him, but I need a vessel in the meantime."  

He didn't bother to conceal his intentions.  No one could stop him now.  

His chakra swirled around him, marking his path towards the last, unfortunate member of the Akatsuki.  The purple glow of his chakra bloomed out around him, diffusing into the air as a corrosive miasma.  His rage had taken on a physical form, and his skin shimmered with energy.   If Deidara had been paying attention, he would know just how dangerous it was to be in proximity to the Sannin when he was this angry.  

Clearly, Deidara was busy.  

Orochimaru slammed the door to the workshop open, interrupting the shinobi as he sat working with a large mound of explosive clay.  Deidara glanced up at the commotion, his eyes narrowing as he jumped to his feet. 

"What the fuck?!  You can't just burst in, you asshole!  My art requires total focus, un!" 

Orochimaru's eyes narrowed with dislike.   _You're the only one still here.  You'll have to do._

"I no longer require your services," Orochimaru snarled, his stride unbroken as he stalked towards Deidara. 

Deidara's knee-jerk reaction was to ingest some of the clay as quickly as he was able to stuff it into his mouth and the mouths on his hands.  "You rotten, snake-bastard-"

He wasn't fast enough to defend himself.  His hands flew up as if to ward Orochimaru off, but his efforts were to no avail. The small bird fashioned out of explosive clay that he'd hurriedly constructed in his haste to get away never made it into flight as Orochimaru's remaining arm shot out, grabbing Deidara by the throat and pinning him to the wall. 

Twin snakes shot out from the remains of Orochimaru's shoulder, effectively pinning Deidara's arms and legs.  Orochimaru's only response was to laugh softly, watching as Deidara struggled against his attack.  

Deidara fought to breathe, accidentally dropping his only weapon as the mouths on his hands fell limp from a lack of air.  He struggled against the Sannin's iron grip; his face turned purple as his heart pumped frantically to push blood around his body. It was useless, he had no oxygen left.  

Orochimaru struck, burying his fangs in Deidara's neck as the shinobi's short nails scrabbled across his back in a futile attempt to push him away.  Orochimaru's chakra permeated every cell of Deidara's body as he hung on, activating his senjutsu.  Several long minutes passed. 

A sharp sound disturbed the sudden silence.  It sounded like Deidara was choking as his body began to writhe.  Stubbornly, Orochimaru hung on, waiting for his victim to die.  The hum of chakra permeated the air as the jutsu took effect.  

Orochimaru's old body suddenly fell limp as Deidara crumpled to the floor.  His eyes, which had been scrunched shut from the pain of Orochimaru's attack, flicked open and he stood up. 

Fluidly, Orochimaru straightened up and studied his new body, inspecting it for flaws.  A mocking smile slid over his mouth as he regarded the old husk that had immediately begun to crumble to dust on the floor.  Without a flow of chakra, his old body had nothing left to use to keep its molecular structure intact. 

His gaze swept over the workshop, taking in every detail.  His eyes were cold, reptilian, and darkening with each passing second.  

Deidara was gone. 

"That's better," he purred, stepping over his desiccating corpse and flexing his hands.  He began to sign, quickly and precisely.  Nothing obvious happened, and there was a moment of expectant silence as Orochimaru cocked his head to the side as if he was listening. 

Manda slithered closer, the sound of his scales rubbing together made Orochimaru sway slightly; he moved like a cobra about to strike.  

Finally, he chuckled darkly, pleased that his message had been received.  "Excellent."  

Without waiting to see if the transfer was fully complete, he reached up to the corner of his eye and ripped the skin, hard.  He didn't even flinch as Deidara's old face peeled away, revealing the scaly, reptilian skin underneath.  

_Now, we make our move.  It's time to take back what's mine._

He strode out of the workshop, ignoring Manda, who hissed angrily at him as he was nearly trod upon.  As he finished tearing away what was left of Deidara, Orochimaru smiled.  It wasn't a nice smile.   It was a smile filled with wrath and cruelty, a grimace filled with a promise.  

He was judge, jury, and executioner, and Konoha had wronged him.  It was past time that he paid the village back for its betrayal, in full.  

_I'm coming home, Tsunade._

* * *

 

Sakura leaned on Tsunade gratefully, rubbing her wrists where the manacles had chafed her skin.  "No, I don't actually know what Orochimaru's planning.  He's crazy, that much I do know." 

Ino shrugged, crossing her arms and flipping her long ponytail over her shoulder.  "I’m sorry, Hokage-sama.  I couldn't think of anything else that would get us out of there." 

"It's fine, Ino.  She's safe, that's what matters," Tsunade replied distractedly, guiding Sakura into her office and closing the door. 

Sakura sat down heavily on the desk, allowing Tsunade to fuss over her and heal her wounds.  The laceration on her skull finally stopped throbbing as Tsunade fed chakra into her skin, and she breathed a sigh of relief as the injury healed over.  

"Sorry, Forehead, I cut you pretty deep."

Ino winced as Tsunade moved on to treating the long cut on Sakura's ear.  "I didn't know how else to convince my boss that you were actually getting interrogated." 

"It's fine, thanks, Ino," Sakura murmured, squeezing her friend's hand in hers, "Honestly, I'll take a few flesh wounds any day over what someone else would have done to me." 

Tsunade's mouth flattened into a hard line as she glared at Ino.  "Did you know that they were bringing her in?" 

Her tone held a hint of accusation, and Ino hurriedly flapped her hand at her in an attempt to diffuse the situation. 

"Of course I didn't!  I happened to be there to grab something for Kakashi-sensei, and I overheard two of the intelligence captains talking.  Genma owed me a favor-" her face turned beet red as Sakura smirked at her. 

She knew exactly why he was in Ino’s debt in the first place. 

"-um, and yeah so I called it in.  That's how I got in there," Ino finished lamely, determinedly avoiding Sakura's knowing gaze.  

Tsunade's brow furrowed and she sighed.  "I should have anticipated that putting you in the bingo book would lead to this, I'm sorry-"

"Stop apologizing, please!" 

Sakura's outburst made them pause, shock flitting over both of their faces as she jumped to her feet, gesturing animatedly.  "We don't have time for this.  You can make it up to me later.  I need to get a message to Itachi-" 

Tsunade's face paled as she clued into the implications of Sakura's kidnapping and what that meant for Konoha.  "Oh shit.  Kakashi, get your ass in here!" 

As if on cue, Tsunade's office window slid open and Kakashi smoothly vaulted over the windowsill. 

"Yo," he greeted them, his visible eye crinkling into a smile as he closed the window and strode towards him.  Sakura couldn't help grinning; he was still wearing his Hokage robes.  Any fast movements made him look like he was a giant white bat.  

"You're still technically Hokage, you know," Tsunade said sternly, trying and failing to hide her smile.  "You can't come in using the window." 

"If I'm Hokage, I absolutely can," he replied immediately, peeling said robes off and throwing them on the desk.  Underneath, he wore his usual clothes.  "I hate those things.  Besides, if the meeting is any indication, you're still the Hokage, not me." 

Tsunade made a sound of disbelief, but a smile played around the corners of her mouth.  "We've got bigger problems, Kakashi, we’ll discuss this later.  How fast can you get a message to a shinobi on the move?" 

"That depends.  You think Itachi's on his way here."

His reply wasn’t a question.  

"I know he is," Sakura said immediately, trying to quash the flood of anxiety that wove through her veins. 

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her, so she continued. 

"Sasuke warned me that Itachi might do something stupid if anything happened to me. Itachi left a crow with me, so I know that he’s coming here.  And he’ll be pissed," she added quickly. 

"There are few things more dangerous than someone trying to protect the one they love.  I would have done the exact same thing for Dan." 

Tsunade's statement made Sakura look up in surprise; Tsunade was rarely that candid about feelings. 

"Anyways," Tsunade continued, flicking her hair over her shoulder and motioning for Sakura to turn around.  "Kakashi, your job is to stop whatever Itachi's planning.  He's going to make it difficult to trust him if he tries to bang our door down.”

“Understood,” he murmured softly, already turning back towards the window. 

“If he kills anyone trying to get to Sakura, we're going to have a big problem.  Also, I need you to oversee the task force that's trying to find Fugaku." 

"What's wrong with Fugaku?"  Sakura demanded, planting her hands on Tsunade's desk and waiting expectantly.  "What the hell is going on?!" 

"On it," Kakashi said quickly, turning and darting back out the window, ignoring Tsunade's exasperated groan.  Sakura watched him flit over the rooftops, her stomach churning uncomfortably with anxiety.  

"Ino, I need you to find Umi Uchiha," Tsunade continued to speak, ignoring the panicked expression on Sakura's face at the mention of "Uchiha". 

"She's an OR nurse, she'll on duty tonight.  I need to you tell her about what Fugaku did to Kiba, Gai, and Lee.  She's our best shot at waking them up until we talk Itachi down." 

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura couldn't help the outraged demand that fell out of her lips; if she didn't get an answer she was going to combust.  “What’s happened with Fugaku-“

"He's gone, okay?!"  Tsunade snapped, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation.  "He knocked out the guys guarding him.  It's all because of Orochimaru's jutsu." 

"We need to find him!" 

"You think I don't know that?!"  

Sakura fell silent, wringing her hands together as Tsunade's curt response rang through the room. 

The Hokage softened immediately, running a hand over her face as she sighed deeply.  "I'm sorry, Sakura.  We found out right before you were brought in that he managed to escape.  We'll find him." 

"We have to, otherwise Orochimaru's one step closer to winning," Sakura whispered, cradling her head in her hands.  "What can we do in the meantime?" 

"Go, Ino.  We'll take it from here," Tsunade gently prodded Ino towards the door.  Ino shot a concerned glance at Sakura, who smiled weakly.  

Sakura nodded gratefully at Ino, silently mouthing "good luck" as her friend turned to leave.  Ino flashed a small smile, moving quickly out of the room and down the stairs of the Hokage tower.  Sakura listened to the sound of Ino's heels fading away against the concrete, already feeling slightly more in control of her worry.  

"Tsunade-sama, you have to let me look for Itachi.  He's only going to stop if he sees me." 

"You're right, fine," Tsunade sighed, still inspecting Sakura's torn back.  "You really did a number on yourself.  Your chakra is so depleted that it's a miracle that you're even standing." 

"Sasuke's alive, that's what matters," Sakura replied distractedly, already anxious to leave.  "I have a bit of a weird request." 

"Hm?" 

"There's a jutsu on my back that Lady Chiyo used in Suna to jumpstart my chakra, can you reactivate it?  I can't waste any time recuperating.  Once we find Itachi, I need to go after Fugaku.  I can't risk Sasuke and Itachi getting to him first, not when they're all strung out from trying to save me." 

"That's a good point.  Meet up with Kakashi after you find Itachi. Hold still; let's see what I can do with this jutsu.  Ah, there it is."  

She glanced over her shoulder to see Tsunade's brow furrow in thought.  The hum of her healing chakra made Sakura's spine vibrate gently as she inspected the remnants of Chiyo's jutsu.  "Interesting… I should be able to use it, give me a second-"

Sakura let out a shocked breath as a ribbon of ice ran down her spine.  She felt her system opening up, accepting the wave of chakra that flowed out from the centre of the jutsu's focal point.  Her muscles trembled as the damage to them was washed away. 

"Holy shit," she breathed, glancing over her shoulder at Tsunade as the initial rush of the activation had ebbed out of her muscles.  "That's incredible-" 

She cut off as she took in the sudden wrinkles and age spots that had suddenly appeared on Tsunade's face.  Her mentor took a deep, calming breath as she readjusted her appearance.  Sakura's eyes widened as she calculated how much chakra Tsunade had expended healing her.  "Tsunade-sama, you're-"

"I'm fine, kid.  Don't worry about it.  I'll be back to normal in a couple of hours." Tsunade waved away Sakura’s protests and sat down at her desk, closing her eyes for a moment. 

Sakura couldn't help the trickle of worry that wound its way back into her veins.  _Lady Chiyo didn’t give me any indication that she was hurt by her using it on me the first time-_

"That technique is powerful, but it's got one hell of a cost.  I hope that's not what you and Itachi were doing on your mission," Tsunade trailed off meaningfully, glaring at her student. 

Sakura had the good grace to blush, shaking her head.  "No, it was a pressure point transfer.  It was only for emergencies first, and then it became the only way to keep Sasuke alive." 

Tsunade's already pensive expression darkened and she raised an eyebrow.  "Your chakra is different, it's...harder somehow.  You need to be careful.  Uchiha chakra is strong stuff, you've still got some of it in your system." 

Sakura sighed, rolling her shoulders.  "I will be.  Can you make sure that everyone knows not to try and kill me as I try and track down a rampaging elite shinobi?" 

She determinedly changed the subject, anxious to get to the matter at hand.  

Tsunade grinned, gesturing with a jerk of her head that Sakura should go out the window.  "I'll take care of it.  Find Itachi, and stop him.  We have bigger problems to deal with."

"Okay, good," Sakura muttered, gratefully squeezing Tsunade's shoulder as she darted around the side of the desk and smoothly vaulted out of the window. 

She used her newly regenerated chakra to stick her feet to the side of the tower, sprinting up the side of the steep building.  Once she reached the top, she concentrated, looking for Itachi's chakra signature.  

_It’s better for me to camp out up here, there’s less chance of someone making a mistake and attacking me.  If Itachi’s crows fly over here, they can see me too._

_Itachi, please don’t do anything stupid._

* * *

 

Itachi moved faster than he thought was possible.  The wind whipped through his hair and snapped his cloak out behind him as he travelled.  He barely noticed that Sasuke was working hard to keep pace; he was consumed by panic. 

Not one to let his emotions rule him, there was a small part of his rational mind that still urged him to rethink his journey to Konoha.  He shuffled through possible outcomes, discarding every scenario that would result in Sakura's death.  He didn't want to think, he couldn’t allow himself to think.  

He propelled more chakra into his legs, increasing his speed.  His breath burned in his lungs and his heart thumped steadily against his rib cage.  After hours at a breakneck pace, he finally slowed to a stop half a mile from Konoha.  Sasuke landed beside him, his face flushed and glistening with sweat.  Itachi imagined that he looked the same; he was impressed by their time.  

And yet, he was worried that they were too late. 

They’d arrived far faster than he’d expected, which gave him a small glimmer of hope.  His heart continued to beat frantically in his chest as he thought about what Sakura might be going through.    

He knew what kind of techniques the ANBU interrogators used; she was almost better off dead.  His mind spun with the possibilities, all were too horrible to think about.  He forced his mind back onto the path of rational thinking and decided to go with the easiest way to get into the village.

He was going to walk right in, but he needed something that would distract the shinobi patrolling the perimeter.  Itachi didn’t want to kill anyone, but he was willing to, for Sakura. 

"So, what now?"  Sasuke gasped, his chest heaving as he fought to control his breathing.  "We can't just kick the door down." 

"I can't," Itachi replied darkly, his voice dangerously quiet, "But you can.  I need a distraction." 

"No, my job is not to be your  _dancing monkey_ -" Sasuke began furiously, cutting off as he caught a glimpse of Itachi's eyes.  His sharingan spun, swirling with the black of his pupils as he glared at the outer boundary of the village.  

"I'm sorry, but I need you to help me," he said softly, still analyzing the forest around where they stood.  "I can't leave her." 

Sasuke closed his mouth, his anger dissipating as he thought about Itachi's words; both spoken and implied. 

"Fine.  Don't kill anyone," he warned, already striding into the darkness and making for the main gate. 

Itachi watched him disappear into the shadows before dragging his incisor down his palm.  Blood welled immediately out of the jagged cut, filling his palm with the hot, scarlet liquid.  He clenched his fist, signing quickly and precisely with one hand as he unfurled his summoning contract with the other hand.  

He wasn't kept waiting long.  A large murder of crows silently puffed into existence, each bird watching him with an expectant look in its intelligent eyes.  The leader, a huge male, flapped down to Itachi's shoulder.  "Itachi-sama, it's been a while." 

"Kage," Itachi replied, running one finger affectionately down his beak.  "I need your help." 

"We are at your service, as always," the bird croaked, rustling his wings as he surveyed his master expectantly.  "What do you need?" 

Itachi was silent for a moment, staring out into the darkness.  "We need to subdue as many attacking shinobi as possible.  It will require us to repeat what we accomplished in Getsugakure." 

"It can be done, Itachi-sama."  Kage spread his huge wings, flapping soundlessly into the air above Itachi's head.  "Shall we begin?" 

"Yes," Itachi murmured, activating his mangekyou as the entire group of crows took to the air.  The forest exploded with movement as Itachi shot towards Konoha, taking his small army with him. 

_Hang on, Sakura._

* * *

 

Sakura waited for what felt like hours, her breathing evening out and her chakra calming as she meditated.  She didn't even twitch as two new people joined her on the top of the tower; she knew that they were there to help. 

Her eyes fluttered open, and she regarded Neji and Naruto with a soft smile.  "Hey, guys." 

"We heard that you might need some help tracking a rogue Uchiha down," Neji murmured, settling down beside her and activating his byakugan.  His all-seeing eyes swept across the expanse of the village, his chakra able to search exponentially larger areas.  "We'll find him." 

"Fugaku, or Itachi?" 

"Both of them." 

Naruto remained standing, throwing Sakura an enthusiastic thumbs up and a toothy grin.  "Kurama can sense Itachi, don't you worry about it.  What do you think he's gonna do?" 

His question was colored with a hint of worry, which made Sakura's stomach flip flop uncomfortably.  "I don't know.  But nothing good can come of him sneaking into the village intent on busting me out.  I've never seen him use his full strength before, so I don't know what to expect." 

"Guys-" Neji put up a hand, the veins of his ocular jutsu pulsing in time with his heartbeat.  "-I think I found something.  It's not Itachi, but-" 

Sakura's head snapped up, turning towards the main gate of the village.  "It's Sasuke.  We need to move,  _now_!" 

Without waiting for a response, she threw herself off the top of the tower, anchoring her feet to the side of the building at the last second.  Pushing chakra into her legs, she took off.  A grin slid over her mouth as she caught the tail end of Naruto's dry observation.  

"If I did that, I'd end up dead." 

She didn't have to slow down at all to avoid the citizens of the village, running over the rooftops with enough speed to rival Naruto.  She heard flickers of conversation as she passed; news of her return had spread quickly, just as Tsunade had promised.  The military forces herded the populace back into their homes; the search for Fugaku was on.  

"There she is!" 

"I'd recognize that hair anywhere-" 

"She's not trying to kill us?!" 

"I heard that she's got a sharingan-" 

"No way, how did she get into the village?!" 

"It is true that she's blackmailing the Hokage so that he'll let her stay?" 

Sakura punched down her surge of annoyance, trying to stay focused.  _There was always going to be rumors, you just have to get through this, and then you can start bashing in the heads who are talking shit about you_ , she told herself sternly, channeling her nervous energy into speed as she increased her pace even further.  

Her muscles protested, but she ignored the pain. 

She finally dropped to the ground in front of the gates, impatiently pushing her way past the crowd of shinobi who were clustered at the entrance.  Now wasn’t the time for niceties.  Her reputation was enough to clear a path through the throng; she grudgingly had to admit that she liked how quickly people got out of her way. 

Sakura craned her neck to peer over the crowd and another jolt of fear shot through her as she registered the shocked look on Sasuke’s face as he recognized her.

“Sakura?!” 

“Sasuke, where’s Itachi?!”  She couldn’t help the shrill tone of her voice; if Sasuke was here then Itachi was probably already in the village. 

“He’s looking for you,” Sasuke started, glaring at the staring crowd at the gates, “he needed a distraction.  What happened?  How are you not in chains?”

“Ino got me out,” she replied distractedly, her mind whirring to predict where Itachi was.  “He camouflaged his chakra, Neji couldn’t find him.  He’s heading for ANBU headquarters, isn’t he?”

Sasuke hesitated a split-second before nodding curtly, indicating with a minute jerk of his head that Itachi had entered the village using the westernmost wall.

 _Shit_. 

“Go to the Hokage tower, Naruto is there!”  She paused only long enough to see him nod before she took off running. "He'll fill you in on what's going on!" 

* * *

 

Sasuke hated that he was the center of attention.  Now was  _not_ the time for people to try to talk to him and tell him how much he was missed.  He ignored the shinobi clustered around him, taking off into the village before any of them could react.  

He had marched up to the gates, announcing his presence like an idiot.  The gates had opened with little hesitation as the guards took in the sight of him, their mouths flapping open like fish as he'd declared that he'd come back from the dead.  He had stood there, like some kind of freak show as shinobi had begun to cluster around the gate.  

Itachi owed him, big time.  

Apparently he'd showed up partway through a mission debriefing; something was going on that had nothing to do with Sakura and Itachi.  He was determined to find out what it was.  Several of the guards at the gate had looked a little too shifty for his liking; he suspected that something was going on with the Uchiha again.  

Sasuke made it to the base of the Hokage tower in record time, but something prevented him from entering.  He couldn't shake the feeling that Sakura was going to need his help.  He didn't doubt her abilities as a ninja, but he knew that Itachi wasn't in the frame of mind to think clearly. 

_Fuck.  Why do I always have to show up late?_

Sasuke would never forgive himself if something happened to her because Itachi lost control or thought that she was the product of genjutsu.  He groaned, running a hand over his face as he pivoted and took off, running in the other direction towards the ANBU buildings.  He gathered chakra into his legs and increased his speed, hoping against all odds that he would get there in time.  

* * *

 

Sakura had made it halfway to her destination before she felt something strange flickering in her chest.  She slowed to a stop for a brief second, her hand flying to her stomach.  Her system felt it was full of electricity, pulling her towards her destination.

It took her only a couple of seconds before she realized what was happening.  _Itachi._  

The dregs of Uchiha chakra that remained in her system were reacting to his presence, pushing her towards him like a homing signal.  She listened, throwing herself into the air and running as fast as her body was able to move.

_Don’t do anything stupid.  Two minutes.  That’s all I need to get over there._

Her chakra blossomed out around her, acting as both a shield and an indication of her presence.  If she was about to walk into a fight, she didn’t want there to be any doubt that she was alive and well. 

Itachi would be able to tell the difference between her and an illusion. 

Sakura's lungs burned as she picked up her pace, running as quickly as she could to the source of Itachi's chakra.  Her path over the rooftops was unimpeded, and she continued towards the source of Itachi’s chakra.   She descended to street level, silently thanking Shikamaru’s effectiveness as military advisor; the streets were deserted. 

She could feel the energy of Itachi’s sharingan pulsing, like a beacon, as she moved, vaulting over garden walls and dashing through the streets. 

Itachi was on the move, moving almost as quickly as she was, into the heart of the intelligence building. 

She stiffened in horror as she skidded around a corner, coming face to face with what he’d left in his wake. 

Her heart leapt into her throat as she took in the sight of a dozen shinobi lying on the ground.  They were all unconscious.   

She ran over to the closest body, turning him over and almost sagging with relief as she realized that he wasn’t dead. 

His breathing was regular, his chest moved slowly up and down as he slept.  Sakura almost sobbed with relief as she quickly checked the rest of the guards. 

“He put them down using the mangekyou,” she breathed, straightening up and closing her eyes.  “He hasn’t killed anyone yet.  This is good.”

Itachi’s chakra led her into the building, down into the interrogation chambers.  Sakura fought down a shudder of fear and took off again, running as quickly as she could.  Her breath puffed out of her lungs as she panted. 

She could hear her heartbeat thundering in her ears as she jumped down the stairs between the staircases.  If she had to take them in the traditional way, it might be too late for anyone who put up a real fight against Itachi. 

She plummeted, welcoming the familiar feeling of her stomach dropping as she fell.  Sakura landed lightly, one leg splayed out to distribute her weight.

 She tapped into the adrenaline singing through her veins, picking up speed again as she passed several more unconscious guards.  She dragged a measure of chakra over each one as she ran by, making sure that they weren’t in any danger before continuing downwards.

She was both impressed and terrified with Itachi’s effectiveness.  _Thank god he’s not my enemy._ _How the hell did he get so many people under the mangekyou’s influence?  They’ve got to know what it can do._  

Her nostrils were assaulted by the scents of old blood and antiseptic, and she forced herself to continue, despite the pit of dread that had taken up residence in her belly. 

_I’m almost there._

* * *

 

Itachi didn’t move a muscle as his crows flew over his head in a silent black wave.  His mangekyou thrummed with power as he projected his Tsukuyomi through the corvids.  He sure as hell couldn’t direct the jutsu towards more than three people at a time, but his crows could.

It was human nature to glance up at anything that came flying out of the dark; the crows were excellent at making eye contact with his victims.  He didn’t need to expend any physical effort to deploy his technique. 

Itachi preferred long-distance fighting. 

The two men who stood opposite him stiffened, and a small flicker of triumph ignited in his chest as he dove into the mangekyou.  He watched them for a moment, learning their weaknesses as they struggled against the genjutsu that restrained them. 

One second in the real world felt like days in the Tsukuyomi; Itachi only needed a few minutes in the shadow world.  The side-effect was unconsciousness, which was completely fine by him.  He wouldn’t need to kill them if they weren’t in any fighting shape. 

He didn’t need to use physical force even within the jutsu; the mangekyou was fully capable of showing them their worst fears.  Apparently both of these men had girlfriends.  He simply showed them a vision of what could happen to their loved ones if they weren’t forthcoming with what they knew. 

He ignored his distaste for torture; none of that mattered now.  He had to know that Sakura was alright.  Surely these two would understand his reasons. 

_“Where’s Sakura Haruno?”  He demanded, pacing in front of the bound man.  His voice carried no emotion; his tone was cold and merciless._

_“She’s not here,” the first man sobbed desperately.  Itachi recognized his voice; they’d been on an ANBU mission together five years ago.  “We don’t know where she is.  Ino Yamanaka took her out of here hours ago, please leave my family alone-“_

Itachi released him from the jutsu, watching with an unreadable expression as he crumpled to the ground, asleep.  He wasn’t interested in hurting them, as long as they gave him what he needed.  The second man followed his companion into unconsciousness barely two seconds later. 

Itachi strode over their bodies, taking care not to step on them.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a third shinobi slip out of his own genjutsu, the air rippling like sunlight through water as he threw himself towards Itachi, his kunai aiming for Itachi’s eyes. 

_Clever, but not fast enough._

Itachi moved just enough to let the blade pass by his head, pivoting and spinning into a powerful roundhouse kick that caught his attacker by surprise.  Itachi’s foot connected with the ANBU’s neck, snapping his head back and knocking him unconscious. 

Itachi ignored a flash of disdain; he thought that ANBU’s taijutsu standard was better than that.  He reached out and snagged the shinobi’s arm before his head cracked against the ground, lowering him down gently. 

_That was sloppy.  He should have stayed in the genjutsu until he was close enough to kill me._

Itachi didn’t want to kill anyone unless they gave him no alternative.  He knew that Sakura would never forgive him if he killed anyone for any reason other than self-defense.  She would be distraught to know that he’d killed on her behalf; the fact that he would have done it out of love for her wouldn’t matter.

He continued downwards, ignoring the guilt that assaulted him. 

He’d already knocked out more than two dozen of Konoha’s elite.  He would deal with the consequences later, after he’d been assured that Sakura was safe.  He didn’t give a shit about his reputation; he had other things to worry about. 

Itachi’s allies flew over him in a frantic whirlwind of dark feathers as he entered the heart of the ANBU headquarters.  He was expecting a welcoming committee, but he was still slightly disappointed that the administration was cocky enough to think that he could be stopped by anyone other than an Uchiha or a Senju. 

The birds settled down on the ground at his silent request, waiting for his next command. 

He didn’t relish the thought of taking down so many shinobi before Orochimaru got to the village, but at this point he didn’t think that he had any choice in the matter. 

Itachi was willing to do whatever he needed to do to get Sakura to safety. 

He counted thirty shinobi, all standing at the ready to fight him, bristling with weapons as the air vibrated with the hum of activated chakra.  Itachi stopped in his tracks, staring calmly at the orderly lines of defence, his sharingan still spinning lazily. 

“Stop, Uchiha!  You’ll regret this, stand down!” 

He recognized the voice of his teammate Yamato (or Tenzou, as he preferred to be called when they were off duty) issuing out of a cat ANBU mask.

Itachi’s system was assaulted with a rush of fury as he took in the sight of the disguise.  _Sakura was taken by someone in a mask that looks exactly like that one._   _It was you._

“Where’s Sakura Haruno?” 

His voice was dangerously quiet.  Anyone who knew him would know immediately by the tone of his voice that he wasn’t in a bargaining mood.  His chakra began to swirl more violently around his system, darkening as he shifted into a fighting stance. 

“Not here,” Tenzou replied, his hands subtly shifting closer together as he prepared for the fight.  “Stand down, and we won’t have to kill you.”

“Keep me from her, and I will have to kill you,”  Itachi replied, his tone deepening even further into cold fury as his crows took to the air once more, spinning into a pattern that looked like a huge, rotating sharingan. 

Kage let out a hoarse call at Itachi’s nonverbal command, directing the birds towards the ANBU shinobi with the force of a crossbow bolt. 

Chaos erupted as the chamber exploded with movement, filled with the sounds of fighting as the shinobi tried to ward off the crows. They would simply disappear and reform as they were attacked with physical weapons, scratching and pecking as they fought to get Itachi's sharingan into the optimal position to attack.

Itachi watched, directing his mangekyou towards anyone who was dumb enough to catch a crow’s eye. 

Shinobi after shinobi froze in place, they were effectively taken out of the fight as they succumbed to the effects of his ocular jutsu.  He was fighting on two fronts, but he was too angry to be exhausted.  His physical body was doing just fine, however his eyes were starting to ache from constant use. 

He sensed Sakura’s chakra flickering somewhere nearby, and he doubled his efforts.  She was still alive, that much he knew.  But alive didn’t mean that she was unharmed, so his panic returned. 

He knew what ANBU did to shinobi who were dangerous enough to be in the bingo book.  If she wasn’t dead, she didn’t have much time. 

Itachi needed to end this confrontation _now_.  He didn’t have time to waste; Sakura could be dying. 

The end of this fight wasn’t happening fast enough for him, so he concentrated.  There was a sharp sound, like a match igniting as a small black flame erupted in front of him, only kept in check by his command.  He was trembling with the effort of keeping the Amaterasu contained. 

“Give me Sakura, and I won’t burn this place to the ground,” he murmured, striding closer to where Tenzou stood, still waiting for his attack. 

“I can’t,” the voice behind the mask said, beginning to sign frantically as Itachi strode closer.  “I can’t disobey orders.”

_Hm, he’s preparing his wood release.  Fine, if you want to do this by force, I’ll play._

“You had your chance.”

Itachi’s cold reply rang through the room as he released his hold on the ever-burning black flame.  It rapidly increased in size, shooting towards Tenzou with murderous intent. 

He would have to move faster than was possible from a stand-still position if he wanted to avoid the flames.  Itachi just had to wait for the inevitable. 

“ _Itachi, no_!” 

Sakura dropped from the level above, hitting the ground with enough force to shatter the concrete.  Itachi’s stomach dropped in terror as he realized that she’d put herself in the path of the Amaterasu. 

Her pink hair flew around her head in a halo as she stood up, chakra radiating outwards from her body as she threw her arms out to protect Yamato. 

_No!_

If he couldn’t extinguish the flames in time, Sakura would die. 


	37. Deus Ex Machina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time begins to run out.

Tsunade frowned, setting aside her tweezers and magnifying class with a clink. She was baffled, completely confused as to how Orochimaru had managed to activate the curse marks on two people from tens of miles away. There was no evidence of a previously existing jutsu, no chakra connection, no imprint of a sealing technique to be found in either Kasumi or Raiton's bodies.

They had died horribly, their skin burning and their chakra dissolving so fast that their systems had gone into shock, shutting down their lungs and hearts, and denying oxygen to their brains. The only positive aspect of the situation was that they had both perished quickly; after the initial activation of the curse mark they had only been tortured for a few seconds at most.

Tsunade finished writing down her notes, tapping her pen against her lips as she thought. There was nothing left to do but open the two men up and find out what she could about their bodies. She closed her eyes briefly, searching for calm and focus as her thoughts whirled around in an anxious storm.

Fugaku was still missing.

Sakura was trying to stop Itachi from doing something very stupid.

Sasuke was back.

_Orochimaru couldn't be far behind them; Sakura had mentioned that Itachi and Sasuke planned to lure him straight into their trap_.

Konoha felt like it was on the edge of a cliff; she was hanging onto her control by her fingernails, but she would rather die than let down those who were counting on her.

_Time to find out your secrets._

Tsunade flicked her hair over her shoulders, settling a large pair of goggles onto the bridge of her nose and buttoning up a new lab coat.

She concentrated her chakra until it bloomed outwards from her hands, humming gently. The bright blue light lit up the bodies of the two men with an eerie glow, and she closed her eyes, descending into a place of focus.

Her chakra continued to flicker, growing outwards until she held two palms full of energy, moving upwards at a slow speed, riddled with uniformly jagged edges. She didn't often use chakra saws, but now wasn't the time for finesse.

She directed her chakra downwards, moving her arms at a ninety-degree angle until the points of the chakra blades rested on Raiton's unmoving sternum. She squeezed her eyes shut, preparing herself for the inevitable splash of blood as she murmured a quick apology; she hated to disturb the dead.

"I'm sorry. But what your body can tell me might be the key to crippling Orochimaru," she whispered, tensing as the blades bit into his body, cutting through bone like it was made of butter. Tsunade flinched as blood splattered over the table and up her arm, soaking through the sleeve of the coat that she wore until it was scarlet.

The jutsu that she'd engineered with the specific purpose to preserve the dead always worked like a charm, but that meant that she, for all intents and purposes, froze them in time. They never entered rigor mortis until she released the jutsu; the result was that Raiton's blood was still a brilliant red, seeping quickly across the metal operating table and dripping slowly off the edge, echoing loudly onto the sterile linoleum floor. She resisted the urge to gag and soldiered on, determined to finish what she'd started.

The hum of chakra echoed even more piercingly though the ribcage, illuminating organs that never should have seen the light of day. Tsunade worked feverishly, inspecting every inch of the corpse, hoping that she would find something.

Then, after an hour of careful sifting, she found what she was looking for.

_Bingo._

Orochimaru hadn't bitten Raiton; he'd given him a pill to swallow instead. Fragments of a small stone pill capsule were still in his stomach, weathered and pitted by acid. Delicately, she picked them up using her tweezers and deposited them on a tray, scanning over them with a critical eye.

Her chakra began to flicker violently as she passed it over the small fragments. Her chakra reacted to Orochimaru's senjutsu with a fury that she'd never seen before. Her hands felt like they were being stabbed with small needles, over and over again as she checked to make sure. Tsunade ignored the pain; she was too busy working out how to reverse-engineer the pills.

Finally, she figured it out. There was another chakra mixed with Orochimaru's, the vehicle for the curse mark. But the lion's share of the chakra belonged to Orochimaru, allowing him to have control over the person who had swallowed the pill.

Idly, she wondered if Raiton knew about it. She doubted that he would have taken anything Orochimaru had prescribed willingly, given the fact that he had died trying to protect his daughter.

_He was so close to having his freedom. I'm sorry that I couldn't save you,_  she thought sadly.

Thinking quickly, she moved her hands through his abdomen, stopping when she found his spine. She forced chakra into his spinal cord, her eyes snapping open with shock as she found the sign that she'd been looking for.

The chakra inside the pill had crystalized in Raiton's C7 vertebra, creating a shape that vaguely resembled three interconnected tomoe. He'd had a curse mark all along, but they hadn't been able to find it.

_Would you look at that,_  she thought angrily, simmering with rage.  _Imagine what Orochimaru could have done if he wasn't a monster. This technique is brilliant, but it's wrong. It's disgusting, the way that he uses people._

She'd suspected that the curse marks needed the owner's consent to activate (although some of that was subconscious, so she wondered about that), but Orochimaru had treated these two men differently.  _They weren't valuable enough to him to be given the key to unlock their marks_ , she thought with a gasp, whirling to check her notes.

"That son of a bitch," she murmured, shaking her head at Orochimaru's genius. "He didn't just use his test subject to create the marks like Sakura said; he's created an autonomous chakra infusion that will only activate when he wants it to. No wonder he could make it work over long distances, it's his chakra!"

_There are two kinds of curse marks._

_It's the same one that he used on Fugaku, but a one-time transferral. That's why he was able to get them to work for him. Kasumi wanted the power, but holding Raiton's kid hostage wasn't enough of a reassurance of loyalty for the old snake. He put a security measure in place._

_Fuck me, he's thought of almost everything._

_Sakura, you'd better hurry up and find Fugaku._

Moving quickly, she closed Raiton's body up, rearranging his features into an expression that wasn't twisted by agony. She murmured another hurried apology over Kasumi's corpse, flicking her hands out with a snap and igniting her chakra blades once more.

She didn't pause to wipe the blood off of her goggles; she was too worried about what she'd find. Her suspicions were confirmed as she found the exact same pill capsule in the steward's stomach, an extra precaution on top of the curse mark that was tattooed across the back of his shoulder blade.

_Shit._

* * *

Sakura landed hard, the breath wooshed out of her lungs as she put her body between Itachi and the bodies of the ANBU shinobi. She knew that it was stupid, hell, she might get herself killed.

_It's worth it to save Itachi from himself_ , she told herself firmly, throwing her arms out and glaring at Itachi. She felt a rush of anger, beside herself that Itachi was willing to destroy everything that they'd worked so hard to save.

Guilt assaulted her, her thoughts whirling around the fact that he had done this to protect her, in some sort of misguided attempt at white-knighting the situation.

She was having a hard time admitting it, but for the first time, she was scared of him.

"Sakura, get out of the way!" Itachi called hoarsely, his sharingan spinning faster than she'd ever seen it as he fought to control the flames.

She'd never seen him struggle in a fight before. His panicked expression was something that she'd never seen and that shocked her so badly that she froze in place. The Amaterasu bore down on her, and she couldn't force herself to move.

Itachi stood shock-still, horrified, as the bolt of pitch-black fire shot towards her. She braced herself for the impact, hoping against all hope that he would be able to stop it before it got to her. Her breath was knocked out of her lungs as the ANBU shinobi bodily knocked her backwards out of the way, but he wasn't quite fast enough.

Her gasp of pain echoed through the cavernous room as she landed hard, her nerves firing rapidly as her still-injured body rolled across the stone floor. She felt her skin tearing as the shattered concrete embedded itself into her limbs, but she barely felt the pain. Itachi's crows flew as one, creating a black barrier between her and the flames, but they were too late.

The Amaterasu blasted through them like they were made of dust. The air filled with smoke as they were destroyed, making it hard to breathe.

But she had bigger problems.

She was on fire. The heat of it seared the air, burning the chakra that she'd hurriedly hardened as a shield outside her body. It ate through her protection like it was melting through snow, and she began to panic.

_Shit!_

Sakura struggled to breathe and regain her senses as the Amaterasu continued to burn. Without thinking, she whipped out a kunai and dragged it through her hair, denying the flames any more purchase on her body. The flames dropped to the ground with the cut hair, spreading faster than should have been possible.

She scrambled backwards, towards Itachi and away from the flames as they picked up speed, shooting across the floor as if someone had thrown a can of gasoline on them. Dimly, she could hear shouting; there was some kind of commotion coming from above.

The ANBU shinobi quickly stripped off his armor and flak jacket, throwing his charred mask to the side as he prepared to pull his comrades out of the path of the flames. She recognized Tenzou, a friend of Kakashi's.  _He's the one who grabbed me. And he's the one who made sure that Ino was able to get me out of the interrogation! I thought his chakra felt familiar._

"Sakura, get out of the way!" Itachi called, darting over and aiming his mangekyou towards the flames. They began to recede, but not quickly enough. "I can't put the fire out if I can't look at it head on."

"The flames are getting too close to their bodies, Itachi, put it out!"

The air filled with smoke, and Sakura felt panic taking over her as she watched the hissing flames spread closer to the bodies by the second.  _No, we can't let them die!_

"Put the flames out, damn you!"

A hoarse yell cracked through the air as Sasuke dropped from above, landing softly and immediately putting his body in the middle of the confrontation, unafraid of the flames. Sakura allowed Itachi to help her up, running backwards, away from the spreading fire as Sasuke's sharingan spun, his chakra exploding outwards like a concussion blast.

There was a sound like a giant, powerful vacuum, and then the inferno was gone. A breeze picked up, whistling down from the hole that Sasuke had blown in the roof, wafting ash and dust through the room. Several tiny flames still burned, but Sasuke calmly directed his sharingan at them; he had the situation well under control.

Sakura stood up, very much in shock, as the last of the flames winked out and her shorn hair cascaded around her as she whirled to look. Currents of red-hot air still shimmered in her vision, making the air hazy. As far as she could tell, no one had been too badly hurt.

She darted over to Tenzhou without any hesitation and healed the nasty burn on his arm, murmuring a hasty apology.

He waved her words away, sheepishly watching her work. "I should be the one asking for forgiveness. I was the one who kidnapped you-"

"Don't you dare," she said fervently, glaring at Itachi over her shoulder. "You were following orders. It's not your fault that he lost his mind. Can you help me assess the damage to everyone else?"

"Of course," he replied, kneeling immediately next to one of his comrades and inspecting him for injuries. Sakura watched him for a moment, waiting until she felt confident that he knew what he was doing before she strode back to Itachi and Sasuke.

Sakura hadn't even sensed Sasuke coming to her aid, and she sagged with relief as she finally dredged up some rational thought. They'd stopped Itachi, no one was dead, and the Amaterasu had been snuffed out.

Just in time. What could have happened was too terrible to think about.

"How are they, Tenzou?"

"They look pretty good. Some small burns, but those are easily patched up," he replied, hoisting one of the unconscious men over his shoulder and darting upwards.

Sakura let out a long sigh of relief.  _That's good, at least. Now, it's time to deal with Itachi._

She was in a mood to murder someone, Itachi, specifically. She stalked towards the brothers, not even bothering to try and calm her anger.

Sasuke whirled to face Itachi with accusation written clearly on his face. "What the hell?! Itachi, that was the dumbest fucking thing I've ever seen you do."

"Thank you, Sasuke."

Itachi didn't even have the good sense to look contrite, and that ignited the swirling whirlpool of rage that still rioted inside of Sakura.

_That's your reply? Oh hell no, I'm not standing for that!_

"What the _hell_?!"

Sakura stomped up to Itachi, balanced her weight, and then punched Itachi in the chest, hard. He doubled over, the breath knocked out of his lungs as she turned on him.

"How  _dare_  you?!" She shrieked, her terror and panic finally seeping out of her. They were out of danger, so her emotions simply didn't have anywhere to go but outwards. She knew that she would feel guilty later, but she was currently too angry to care.

"You idiot! I would expect this kind of irrational behavior from anyone else, but  _never_ you! Were you just going to damn hundreds, maybe thousands of people to death because you were scared that I was hurt?!"

"Sakura-" He started, breathing hard as he fought to pull air into his body.

"No! You don't get to talk right now!" She snarled, planting her hands on her hips and glaring at him with a look that could have melted glass. "I should be arresting you, taking you to the Hokage to be strung up on charges of  _real_  treason! What did you think was going to come out of this?!"

"I didn't think ahead that far," Itachi muttered, avoiding her gaze. He looked so much like a scolded puppy that she almost allowed herself to throw her arms around him and cry, but she soldiered on, reaming him out for all that she was worth.

"Itachi, you are the biggest  _idiot_  in the entire world, and you're lucky that I love you, otherwise I would take it upon myself to  _kill_ you!" She yelled, finally running out of rage as she finished her sentence. What was left in its place was simmering anger and cold indifference. "I'm shocked that you would be so  _selfish_."

He opened his mouth as if to say something, then wisely closed it and waited expectantly for her to continue speaking. She didn't waste any time.

"You need to go with Sasuke and wake up  _every last_ fucking person that you knocked out, and you're going to apologize to them. You're going to tell them that you are stupid, and reckless, and an emotionally-stunted Uchiha who doesn't know how to process emotion properly, hence the  _rampage_!"

He didn't say anything, just surveyed her with a soft look in his eye. She knew that look very well, but was still too pissed to acknowledge it.

"And then, you're going to frogmarch to Tsunade-sama's office and report for duty. Am I understood?"

"Yes," he replied softly, reaching out and carding his hand through her newly shoulder-length hair. She resisted the urge to melt into his arms and forced herself to continue to speak. She loved him, yes, but that didn't mean she liked him very much at the moment.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" She demanded, still glaring at him. She stubbornly refused to return his affection; she wasn't in the mood to be nice to him.

"You're safe, that's all I care about."

"Don't-" She interrupted, stepping away from him and turning away. "I'm not willing to talk to you right now. I'll find you later. Get moving."

She effectively ended the conversation, fighting down the tears that threatened to spill over her cheeks. She caught Sasuke's eye and acknowledged his silent question with a minute shaking of her head.  _No, I'm not injured. But that doesn't mean that I'm okay._

"Sasuke, make sure Itachi follows my orders," she snapped, still refusing to look at him. She knew that she wouldn't be able to hold back her tears if she did. Itachi could read her like an open book; there was no doubt in her mind that he knew how upset she was.

"Count on it." Sasuke's expression was stormy, and she threw him a grateful glance before she left.

_I need to find Fugaku._

She pivoted and shot upwards, listening to Sasuke's demands for an explanation echoing off the stone walkways. She finally allowed herself to cry; the tears streamed downwards like rain as she poured all of her emotion out. She was filled with a myriad of feelings, most of which were centered on fear and relief. Her guilt felt like a red-hot brand on her chest, and she forced herself to take a deep, calming breath.

_It was all because of me. All because I couldn't get a message to him fast enough. If he'd killed the people that he'd knocked out, there would be dozens of dead shinobi to mourn._

If Itachi had killed someone, she would have no choice but to take him to task for it. She knew that Tsunade would only be able to overlook so much, and she was frightened by how close Itachi had come to committing cold-blooded murder on her behalf.

She wasn't naive, she knew that his kill list was pages long, but it shook her to the core that a pacifist like him would have killed as many of Konoha's elite fighting and intelligence ops as he needed to, to save  _her_.

_He should have followed the shinobi code and left me to die. I don't know if I can forgive him for what he was willing to do._

She took another deep breath as she reached the surface, content in the knowledge that Sasuke was with Itachi. She forced her feelings down deep, bringing her mind back to the task at hand.

_I need to find Fugaku, fast._

She darted into the night, noticing that her hair no longer streamed out behind her. She fought down a small smile; she liked it short.

She felt powerful. Chakra thrummed through her veins as she made for the outskirts of the village, towards the safe house that Fugaku had escaped.

Her first priority was to find Fugaku.

Idly, she wondered what Orochimaru was up to. Her mind flashed to Juugo, and she hoped desperately that he'd gotten everyone out of the mountain safely. She was counting on Gaara to bring them to Konoha; she trusted him.

_With Juugo and Gaara protecting the group, what could go wrong?_  She let out a small, nervous laugh as she sprinted around a corner, pivoting at a sharp angle and shooting into the darkness between two buildings.

_I should know better than to say stuff like that. I probably just jinxed the whole damn rescue mission._

* * *

Juugo hoisted Yuki more securely in his arms, trying desperately to comfort her as she cried.

"Hey now, you're okay," he soothed, glancing around at his ragtag band of refugees as they made their way thought the vast fields outside the western entrance to the staging village. "You'll see your father soon."

He couldn't ignore the sinking pit of dread in his stomach; he had a gut feeling that Yuki's father was dead. Juugo walked slower than he wanted to, trying to lull the fatigued child to sleep. She finally succumbed to her exhaustion, her brow furrowing as she dreamt.

When he judged that she was deeply asleep, he dared to raise his voice to communicate with the rest of the group.

"Come on, we need to hurry!" He called, waving one huge hand through the air as the drained former prisoners picked up the pace. "We're almost there!"

A small, half-hearted cheer rose up from the group as they channeled their remaining energy into moving a little bit faster. What mattered now was keeping their morale up; if anything went sideways he was going to need them to fight for their lives.

Juugo let out a long sigh, very relieved that every single one of them was trained as a shinobi in one way or another. They didn't have a lot of chakra to boast about due to the constant experimentation and psychological abuse, but there were enough shinobi who could use genjutsu that their little caravan was somewhat camouflaged.

Juugo made sure to follow at the rear. He was terrified that Orochimaru would follow them, even though Itachi had assured him that Orochimaru would be more concerned about getting his revenge on Konoha than those who he deemed to be his property.

_"As long as you get them to safety, everything will work according to plan," Itachi had said firmly, putting an end to Juugo's constant stream of questions. "Gaara will take care of the rest. You just need to get everyone there in one piece."_

The tired party of one hundred and thirty four people finally crested the last hill. Those at the front of the line (the people who Juugo had deemed the most physically fit; they could hold their own in a confrontation) had stopped, and were standing in a line, creating a wall between the rest of the people and whatever lay at the bottom of the hill.

Juugo hurriedly handed off a sleepy Yuki to one of the older subjects, his chakra already flowing towards his arms in preparation for a fight. He jogged over to where two of the front line stood. The two test subjects who he'd assigned as leaders of the front group were arguing.

As per usual. They hadn't stopped bickering since they'd left the hideout.

"Shut up! I can't assess the threat if you don't stop talking!" Karin's shrill voice carried over a distance, and Juugo's eyebrows shot straight upwards.

"Just let me do it! You're too slow, they'll kill us before you're done-" Suigetsu snapped, cutting in front of her and slapping his wet hands together in the tiger hand sign.

"If they were going to fight us, they wouldn't have announced their presence like this," Juugo commented softly, firmly putting an end to the argument as the two shinobi whirled to look at him.

He didn't know Suigetsu or Karin well, but he knew that they were the two people at the front who had the most leadership potential. Karin knew enough about medical jutsu to heal anyone or inflict cellular damage from a distance, and Suigetsu apparently had one of the legendary swords at his disposal.

Whether or not they'd been truthful about their abilities, he'd sensed that they still had enough chakra to be useful in a fight.

Juugo's adrenaline spiked and he scanned for aggressive chakra as he took in the group standing at the bottom of the hill.

"Who are they?" Suigetsu demanded, crossing his arms and dripping with derision. "Should we fight them?"

"No, stupid!" Karin snapped, pushing her glasses farther up her nose. "I think that's the Kazekage-"

"What kind of Kazekage would have a face tattoo that says "love"?! My money's on a mercenary-" Suigetsu retorted waspishly, cutting off as Juugo raised a hand.

"That's them. That's the Kazekage. Itachi said that he would be waiting for us."

Juugo's relief was obvious in the way that his shoulders relaxed and he jogged towards the waiting party.

He didn't wait for a reply from his comrades.

Juugo finally slowed to a stop in front of the Kazekage, who regarded him with ancient eyes.  _This guy's more powerful than he looks._

Juugo's eyebrows rose as he calculated the amount of chakra that this guy was likely to have given that power was rolling off of him in waves. He relaxed his shoulders, radiating calm energy as he met the Kazekage's gaze, sizing him up as Gaara did the same thing.

Gaara's expression wasn't overly friendly, but the stern look in his eyes softened when he was satisfied that Juugo wasn't interested in fighting.

"You must be Juugo," Gaara murmured, gesturing behind him at the shinobi who flanked him. They bristled with weapons, and were clearly on edge. "I've been in contact with Sakura. We're going to take you as far as Konoha. Any questions?"'

Juugo started to reply, but was cut off by a sudden scream.  _Yuki._

"What the hell was that?!" Gaara demanded loudly, the rest of his questions lost as Juugo sprinted back up the hill; terror sang through his veins.

He was already running at top speed back towards his people as the group broke up and everyone started to run in different directions. He didn't even hear Gaara's shouted warning as he ran.

"No, it's too dangerous-"

Juugo flung himself into the air, activating his curse mark by instinct and allowing his power to flow though his body as he put himself between the test subjects and the new threat. His wings sprouted from his back, and he forced himself to unleash his anger.

Power thrummed through his veins as he landed hard, sending a shockwave through the ground below his scaly feet. His eyes darkened, sharpening his vision and shattering the landscape into fragments of infrared light.

There was only one man in the entire world who was devoid of colour; you couldn't track the heat signature of something that was cold blooded.

_It can't be. It's genjutsu._

His stomach dropped in horror as he realized that it really was Orochimaru striding towards him, his eyes flashing with fury. Juugo forced himself to remain where he was and doubled his efforts to control the curse mark as Orochimaru's chakra washed over him, bitter and corrosive.

"You traitor," Orochimaru snarled, rage twisting his face into a mask that wasn't human. Juugo stood his ground, using his memories of Kimimaro to pierce through the fog of rage that had descended over his mind.

"What do you have to say for yourself? I saved you, I made you powerful-"

" **No, you betrayed _me_!" ** He yelled back, his powerful voice distorted and darkened by his power. " **You're not going to hurt anyone else**!"

"Is that so?" The Sannin's tone was low, dangerous. He radiated menace out of every pore.

Juugo wanted to back down, to apologize, but then Kimimaro's face flashed through his mind. He stood up straighter, staring down the man who had destroyed his life.

" **You're going to have to go through me if you want to hurt them!** "

Orochimaru was forced to take a step back as Juugo's chakra exploded outwards; it created a concussion blast that flattened the grass around him and stirred up a fierce wind. He just grinned maniacally, making Juugo's lips curl back into an animalistic snarl.

Juugo darted a glance to his left as he sensed Gaara land beside him, his One-Tail chakra swirling in a lazy whirlpool. He pointedly avoided looking at Gaara; it didn't take much to set him off, and he was holding onto his control by the skin of his teeth.

" **Get out of here** ," he grunted, trying to focus on Orochimaru, who stood motionless, his eyes narrowing into slits.

"You're going to need help," Gaara said calmly by way of explanation, clearly unafraid of Orochimaru. Juugo slammed his fist into the ground in response, unable to keep his rage at bay any longer.

" **No, get the hell out of here. Take my friends to safety, I'll handle this! If you don't leave I'm gonna try to kill ya too!"**

Gaara didn't move for what felt like hours, but Juugo knew that it was only a few seconds at most.

" **Go, One-Tails! I'm gonna kill Orochimaru or die tryin'** ," he roared, flapping his powerful wings and launching himself at his enemy before his rage latched onto another target.

Juugo surrendered to his power, letting it flow over his mind like water, letting go of any hesitation or doubt. His chakra ignited in his veins, giving him a burst of strength like he'd never felt before.

He would never let anyone die because of Orochimaru ever again.

Gaara took off; calling orders to his soldiers as they quickly herded the former prisoners away from the battle. Juugo was too focused to care.

Orochimaru's only response was to laugh as he darted towards Juugo, his chakra billowing around him like a dark cloak.

"Then die!"

They collided, each man burning with murderous intent.

A huge explosion tore through the valley, shattering rock and sending a shockwave through the ground. Heat blasted through the air as the two opposing chakra signatures clashed, each trying to force the other to submit.

_If I die, it will be worth it knowing that I did something good with my life. I can atone for the pain I caused, right here and right now._

* * *

Shikamaru ran a hand over his face, surveying the room where Fugaku had last been seen. "He can't have gotten that far. He's in bad shape."

Neji's eyes narrowed as he searched for any chakra clues that could help them pick up Fugaku's trail. "True, but he might not be in control. I don't know the limits of Orochimaru's jutsu, do you?"

Shikamaru found that he had to agree with Neji; he settled for shaking his head and sighing. "What a mess. I didn't finally take the jonin exam so that I'd have to deal with this kind of shit."

Neji smiled gently, turning away from him to stride into the main room where Gai, Lee, and Kiba had been found unconscious. "They don't tell you at the academy what you're in for."

"Good thing, too," Shikamaru grumbled, joining him. "So, you got anything?"

"Not really," Neji trailed off, lost in thought as his byakugan pulsed softly on his forehead. "I'm picking up chakra, sure, but it's so mottled with the effects of his illness that it's diffused. There's nothing here that's sending me in a definitive direction."

Shikamaru was about to start swearing when they were started by a sharp knock at the door. His brow furrowing, he walked over and looked out the peephole. Immediately, he threw back the deadbolt and flung the door open, taking in the sight of a very bruised and sooty Sakura.

"You look great," he commented, smirking at her as she glowered at him. "That ash really brings out your eyes."

"Nice to see you too," she grumbled, striding into the house and surveying it with raised eyebrows. "Hey, Neji. You guys find anything yet?"

"Not yet," Neji replied, waving a hand at the room. "You want to see if you can find anything?"

"Sure." She closed her eyes, her chakra threads searching through the room. Shikamaru had to remind himself not to flinch as they whispered over his skin, moving into all of the nooks and crannies of the house. Sakura finally opened her eyes and shrugged, shaking her head.

Her newly short hair swung around her ears as she did so, and she unconsciously reached up and ran a hand through it, grimacing as she found a piece that wasn't cut quite right. "Sorry, I can't find anything useful. Have Kakashi-sensei's dogs found anything?"

"Dunno," Shikamaru replied, his curiosity getting the better of him. "What the hell happened to you?"

Her expression darkened, and her eyes narrowed. "Let's just say that Itachi almost burned down the ANBU building and everyone in it."

Shikamaru couldn't help his admiring whistle, shrugging as she threw him a look that would have made anyone else wither. "What? He's got style, I'll admit it."

"That's not the point," she muttered, stomping back to the front door and opening it. She stared into the night for a moment, clearly thinking hard. Shikamaru followed her, gesturing to Neji that it was time for them to try looking somewhere else.

Sakura's eyes suddenly snapped open, and he could have sworn that he saw a flash of scarlet pass over her irises. "I think I know where he might be."

"We'll follow you."

Shikamaru and Neji shot into the darkness after her, hearing nothing but the sounds of their sandals tacking against the pavement as they ran. Sakura made several hairpin turns, but Shikamaru figured out pretty quickly where she was going.

_The Uchiha complex? Why would he go there? That was the last place where we'd expect him to hide out, it's too obvious._

_What isn't she telling us?_

* * *

Sakura's breath burned in her lungs as they ran through the darkened village, only able to see by the light of the full moon. She ran towards the Uchiha district, leading Neji and Shikamaru to the place that Itachi had told her about under the Uchiha complex.

She ignored the small put of worry in her stomach, full well aware that she'd been responsible for the damage to the district; there were still patches on buildings and the evidence of reconstruction everywhere. She forced her personal feelings down deep as they slowed to a stop outside the great causeway that marked the entrance to the compound.

_Don't get sentimental. You can worry about that later._

Without glancing behind her (she knew that her companions had been able to keep up), she raised a hand and knocked hard on the grand wooden doors painted with the character for fire. The sound of her knock thundered through the courtyard that lay inside the doors, and she waited impatiently outside as her palms began to sweat and her heart thumped frantically in her chest.

Finally, the left-hand side of the double doors opened, and a suspicious face peered out. She didn't recognize the policeman on duty, but she didn't have time for niceties.

"You know why I'm here," she said bluntly, crossing her arms and trying her best to look authoritative. "Please move."

"You-" the policeman said, his tone dripping with dislike, "-are not allowed in here. You have some guts waltzing back into the village after what you did-"

"I'm with Hyuuga-san and Nara-san on the Hokage's orders. We need to see the shrine."

His retort died on his lips as he took in her expression. She wasn't in the mood to negotiate. His face paled as he clued into her request; she wasn't supposed to know about the shrine.

There must have been something about the fact that she knew about the clan's secret, it made the man step aside and wave them in, closing the door behind them with a boom.

"How do you know about that?" He hissed, darting a furtive glance around for any eavesdroppers. Sakura followed his gaze, unnerved by how quiet the Uchiha district was. She'd been here countless times over the course of her childhood, training with Sasuke and Naruto, but she'd never seen the streets empty.

"It's not a well-known fact," she assured him, crossing her arms. "I only know about it because Itachi Uchiha trusted me with the information. I just need to confirm that Fugaku Uchiha isn't hiding there."

"Fugaku? Everyone is out looking for him, he's not here," the man shook his head firmly. "No one goes in or out of the shrine without being noticed by the guards."

"How?" Sakura asked curiously, confused.  _Itachi told me that he could get in and out without being noticed. Either that's a testament to how good he is, or he lied to me._

The second possibility sent another pulse of irritation into the storm that still swirled within her.  _He'd better have a good explanation._

The Uchiha pointed to a small side street that Sakura hadn't noticed before. "There are wards and containment jutsus all over the place. They're changed all the time, and there's a rotating group that places the jutsus. There's no way that one person could get through all of the protection without someone noticing."

_Shit._

She shot a glance at Neji, whose byakugan still pulsed as he surveyed the Uchiha. Catching Sakura's eye, he shook his head slightly. His message was loud and clear:  _he's not lying. His chakra is normal._

"Damn it!" She muttered, running a hand over her face in frustration. "I thought that I had something."

_Shit!_

"If it's all the same to you," Shikamaru drawled, lighting a cigarette and lazily blowing out a long stream of smoke. "Get us the person who's in charge when Fugaku's not here, would ya?"

"She's not here," came the reply, joined with a raised eyebrow and a shrug. "Hibana's meeting with the other clan heads. Just trust me, if Fugaku was in the compound, we'd know it. He's not exactly the clan's favourite person at the moment. He's pissed off a lot of people."

Sakura was too busy seething with frustration to hear Shikamaru's reply. "Huh?"

"I said, is there another place where he might have gone?"

"I dunno, maybe to the cemetery?"

Sakura's head snapped up and she gasped. "Of course! We need to get to Sasuke's grave!"

"You're still going to have to tell me what the story is there," Shikamaru grumbled as Neji chuckled softly, thanking the man for his help.

"Later!" She replied distractedly, turning on her heel and using her strength to catapult herself over the wall, much to the sentry's dismay.

_Get to the grave, hurry!_

They ran, their limbs blurring as they made their way across the village to the shinobi burial grounds. They passed several groups of searching ninja on their way, and by the time they'd covered the three miles of ground their group was now at least twenty people strong.

Sakura didn't waste any time, she ran straight in the direction of Sasuke's grave. She could hear Neji and Shikamaru directing the search efforts to cover the entire grounds, but she didn't wait to hear anything else. She skidded to a stop beside Sasuke's grave, ignoring her flash of discomfort as she stared at his gravestone.

_There's no one here._

She ran back to the group, her stomach plummeting as she realized that no one could find any sign of Fugaku. He wasn't in the village, in the forest right outside or hidden in any of the bunkers below the towers.

_That means that he's living on borrowed time until we find him. Orochimaru might already have him._

The situation had turned dire. She couldn't help the frustrated tears that streamed down her face, leaning against a nearby tree for support. She'd failed Sasuke and Itachi, and now Konoha would pay for it.

Shikamaru landed beside her, his expression remarkably neutral as he surveyed her, crying and covered in dirt and ash.

"Go home," he said gently, jerking his head towards the search party. "We'll keep looking. You're in no shape to be out here all night."

"But-"

"Go, Sakura."

She finally looked at him head on, taking in the solemn set of his eyes. "You'll do everything that you can?"

"Yeah, I know I've got orders to bring him back, but-"

"Do what you have to do, Shikamaru,'' she whispered, hugging her arms to her chest, "I hate to say it, but given what he did to escape you might have to kill him. Just make sure that his sharingan can't be stolen."

"Gotcha," he muttered, tightening his ponytail and fixing her with a stern glare. "Go home, I'll take it from here."

"Wait, I don't have an apartment anymore-"

"Yes, you do. Tsunade-sama made sure that you had it for when you came home."

Sakura couldn't help the rush of affection for her shisou; it must have taken some very interesting lies to keep her apartment the way that it was when she left.

That was one thing that she didn't have to worry about.

"Thanks," she said softly, trying to calm her racing heart as she took off towards her house.

Part of her was angry, part of her was devastated, and the other part was just  _so damn tired_  that she didn't want to have to think anymore. Sakura didn't know whether or not she should hope that Itachi was in her apartment; she was still angry.

But the guilt was worse. She knew that he wouldn't blame her for losing Fugaku, but it didn't help how she felt. She felt like everything that they'd carefully planned had been thrown to the wind, and the attack on Konoha was going to be worse than anything that they had ever experienced.

Sakura hadn't forgotten the devastation of the last attack. Orochimaru wasn't the kind of man who did anything by half.

She walked to her house, moving on autopilot as her mind whirred over the events of the night. Over and over, she replayed the flash of Amaterasu and finally let herself feel. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she slowly made her way up the four flights of stairs that led up to her door.

She fumbled for the key on top of the door, sliding it into the lock and opening the door. The scent of dust assaulted her as she walked in, and she sighed.

_Tsunade-sama must have kept the landlord from getting rid of my stuff_ , she thought, running her hand over the solid inch of dust on her nightstand. She found herself wishing that Itachi had been there waiting for her, but then firmly reminded herself that she was supposed to be furious with him.

Oh, she was going to give him a piece of her mind, but she still wanted to feel safe. Despite the events of the night, he was a steady presence who truly did set her at ease (when he wasn't trying to kill anyone who he could get his hands on). She wanted to punch him again, but she also wanted to fall asleep in the safety of his arms.

_I'm a goddamn contradiction_ ; she groaned silently and leaned against the windowsill, gazing up at the moon. Her eyes throbbed, and she fed chakra into them with a yawn.

Sakura's shoulders stiffened as she heard a soft sound. The front door eased open quietly, and Itachi peered around the doorway. "Sakura?"

"In here," she whispered, both relieved and angry to see him.

* * *

Itachi stared at the street, debating if he should check to see if Sakura had gone back to her apartment. His mind whirred over the events of the last several hours, and his jaw clenched as he thought about how close he'd come to losing all control. He was glad to be alone for a moment; Sasuke had left earlier to go see Naruto. He assumed that they were bunking at Naruto's place.

Guilt was currently gnawing a hole in his stomach, and his conversation with Tsunade hadn't helped.

He'd worked with Sasuke's help to wake up the ANBU guards and then had reported to the tower, as per Sakura's demand.

The corner of his mouth ticked up as he thought about how passionately she'd yelled at him. He was a big fan of her fiery personality, and was even impressed that she'd managed to pull her strength enough to only bruise his ribs. If she'd really wanted to hurt him, he'd be breathing through eight broken ribs and a ruptured spleen.

After speaking quickly with Shizune, he'd found Tsunade working away in the morgue. He had to admit that even he was affected by the state of the corpses; he'd never seen a curse mark death before, although Sakura was probably familiar with then.

_"You did what?!" Tsunade had demanded as she worked to close up the Uchiha steward. Itachi had never been fond of the simpering, ambitious man, but he did pity him. His death had been one of searing agony. He wouldn't wish that on anyone, except for maybe Orochimaru._

_"Sasuke and I counted thirty-eight slightly injured intelligence corps agents," he'd replied, bracing himself for a second storm. Sakura could be feisty, but she had nothing on the explosive anger that Tsunade was capable of releasing._

_To Itachi's great relief, however, she'd started to laugh instead. It wasn't a reassuring sound, but at least she wasn't punching him into next week._

_"Well that's just about the dumbest thing I've ever heard about you," she'd chuckled, wiping her hands and taking off her gloves and goggles. "I thought that nothing could make you lose your cool, but all it takes is a threat to Sakura, huh?"_

_He wasn't quite sure how to respond to that. "Yes, I wasn't aware of it until now. She's already expressed her displeasure with me, quite thoroughly," he'd added, still feeling the effects of her punch in his intercostal muscles._

_"Good," Tsunade had said firmly, surveying him with her knowing eyes. "Well, let's just say that you're an idiot and leave it at that for now. We will discuss the consequences of your actions when all of this is over. You're not allowed to undertake any endeavors without my permission, got it?"_

_"Clear as day, Hokage-sama."_

_"I'm impressed that you didn't kill anyone," she'd continued casually, acting as if they weren't standing in a pool of blood. "That takes significant restraint."_

_"I was willing to," he'd admitted, crossing his arms. "But Sakura was the reason."_

_"Hmmph, I guess a reason is better than none. If you ever pull anything this reckless again, I'll kill you myself," she'd said darkly, pointing at him with a stern finger._

_"Understood."_

_"Good. I have to talk to you and Sakura tomorrow; Sasuke might be able to give me some insight into the curse marks as well. I want to see you at ten sharp."_

_"We'll be there."_

_"Get out of here, and wipe off your shoes before you go and see Sakura. I have a feeling that you're going to need to do some serious grovelling," she'd mused, her eyes glittering with dark amusement as she'd gestured to the ground. "Good luck."_

_"I'd prefer not to need it," he'd muttered, stepping out of the way of the rapidly spreading pool of blood._

_"Oh, trust me, you're going to," she'd chirped, turning away to make some notes on a spreadsheet. "Go."_

He hadn't wasted any time, exiting the room that smelled like blood and death, and now was standing on the street corner, trying to decide what his best course of action was. He decided to try Sakura's apartment.

Chances were good that she was there.

His suspicions were confirmed when he sensed a flash of her chakra as he climbed the stairwell up to her home. The door was unlocked; he hoped that it meant that she was ready to talk. She would have locked the door if she didn't want to see him.

"Sakura?"

"In here, Itachi."

She turned, and Itachi could see, even in the half-darkness, that she was weeping. He didn't hesitate, striding across the room and pulling her into his arms.

Sakura's shoulders shook and hot tears streamed down her face as she leaned against him. He wanted to kiss her senseless, to distract her, but he also knew that she was still angry with him. She needed time.

"I'm still mad at you," she hiccuped, shaking her head vigorously as he tipped her chin back to look her in the eye. "Don't look at me like that; I need to be angry for a minute!"

"I'm sorry," he said softly, "You stopped me from doing something that I could never come back from."

"You are such an idiot," she sobbed, fisting her hand in his shirt as she stepped closer. "You can't do something so reckless and expect me to be okay with it!"

"I know. I'm sorry," he murmured, cradling her face between his palms. "I don't know what came over me, I didn't think."

"I'm not mad at you for that," she sniffed and scrubbed furiously at her eyes, "I'm mad about the fact that you were completely okay with killing dozens of strong shinobi right before we go to war with Orochimaru. Even if I ignore how angry that makes me from a strategy standpoint, you know that I have other reasons."

"You have every right to be angry." He finally responded, for once in his life completely clueless as to how he was going to get himself out of this situation.

He'd thrown reason and logic out the window; this was the natural consequence. It hadn't occurred to him that he might lose her, regardless of the fact that he hadn't committed murder.

None of that mattered when she looked at him like he'd gone ahead and done it anyway.

Itachi couldn't ignore the pit of guilt that had taken up residence in his stomach. He had considered the possibility that he would have to kill and had promptly dismissed it; he'd been far too occupied with getting to Sakura, not what he would have to do when he got there.

"I knew that you would never forgive me, so I didn't kill them," he said softly, biting back the urge to continue explaining when her shoulders stiffened and she stepped away from him.

"That's a small blessing at least," she sighed, running a hand over her face. "I just...I'm exhausted and this whole night has been a shitshow. I couldn't find your father."

"Shizune told me what happened.  Just because you didn't find Fugaku doesn't mean that Orochimaru has him." Itachi ignored the flicker of anxiety that bloomed in his chest; he knew that Konoha was searching high and low for him. If he could be found, they would be able to track him down. "Kakashi's got his scent."

"No, but it doesn't mean that we have hope," she whispered, hugging her arms to her chest.

"There are dozens of shinobi looking for him. He'll be found. You've done more than enough, let our allies take over from here," he said firmly, crossing his arms.

"I don't… I don't feel like I've done enough," she whispered, turning away from him. "I'm still so frustrated that I had to intervene with you. What if I missed my chance to catch him?"

"That's possible, but he was already missing. I doubt that twenty minutes would have made much of a difference."

"That's not it-"

She cut off, chewing on her lip. Sakura glanced at him anxiously, he knew that she was afraid that her words were going to be hurtful. He also knew better than to stop her.

"Hm?"

"I'm still angry with you. That's the bottom line," she murmured, avoiding his gaze. She turned and put her back to him.

"Tell me what you're feeling," he prompted, fully aware that she needed to vent. She never reacted well when her emotions were compressed and ignored for too long. He chose not to take her words to heart; he knew that she was trying to express the helplessness that she felt over the situation.

"Fine," she started, pacing back and forth. "It means a lot to me that you were willing to do anything to save my life, but I can't overlook the way that you went about it."

"Do you think that I'd be capable of letting you experience the kind of torture that I was trained in?" He asked simply.

"That's not the point."

"You didn't answer the question."

"No, I didn't think that. But I expected that you would do what you had to do to complete the mission. If that means that I'm a sacrifice-"

"No."

"Yes, Itachi! There's too much at stake now-"

"I wasn't going to let you die," he replied firmly, striding up behind her and sliding his arms around her, pulling her body against his. To his surprise (he wasn't sure how she would react), she let him. This was a good sign.

"I know. But if it's my life or Konoha, I need you to let me go," she whispered, leaning into his embrace as he buried his face in her hair. "Choose Konoha."

"No," he murmured, pulling her even closer as she shivered. He could feel her pulse hammering against his cheek, and he allowed his relief to wash over him. He felt the prickling of tears behind his eyes, and almost pulled away from her because of the strange feeling.

"Itachi, promise me."

"It isn't even a question. Never."

She muttered something that was too quiet for him to hear, but he could have sworn that he heard the word "stupid" in there somewhere. She turned in his arms, facing him once more.

He couldn't think of anything to say, so he settled for holding her. They stood quietly for a moment, and he felt a small flicker of hope welling up in him as she wrapped her arms more securely around his neck and relaxed into him.

"Did you apologize to the guys that you knocked out?" Her voice was muffled in his shirt, and he felt a small smirk tick up the corners of his mouth.

"I did."

"And did they accept?"

"Two of them did," he replied, sighing into her neck. "They were, for the most part, very unimpressed with me."

She laughed softly, her shoulders shaking against his chest. "Good. You deserve that."

"I will move heaven and earth, Haruno. All that I care about is that you're alive," he said firmly, sweeping her into his arms as she let out a squawk of protest. Despite that, she hooked her ankles around the small of his back as he drew back to look at her. "You can be mad at me as long as you want. I just need you to know that."

Her shimmering eyes regarded him for a long moment before she responded. "If you ever do something that stupid again, I will  _not_  heal you, and I  _will_ yell at you for at least two years."

"I can deal with that," he assured her, snaking his arms around her waist and pulling her body tightly against his. "You're safe, that's what matters to me."

"You're still stupid," she murmured, her eyes still puffy and red-rimmed from crying. He brushed a tear off her cheek and tapped her on the forehead. "Don't pull anything like this ever again."

"I won't."

She sighed, sliding her hand around the back of his neck. "I just want to forget that today ever happened."

"Done. So does the promised two years of yelling start now, or..?" He asked quietly, the corner of his mouth turning up as she rolled her eyes.

"Don't try to be cute. You're going to put me down on the bed and then we're going to go to sleep," she said firmly, trying and failing to be stern.

"Yes, Haruno-sama," he replied cheerfully, chuckling softly at the blush that burned across her cheeks at the honorific.  _We're good. We're safe._

"Itachi-"

"Go to sleep. We'll deal with tomorrow when it comes."

* * *

Fugaku couldn't catch his breath. Everything hurt. His body refused to obey his commands, to run, to hide, to  _move_. He felt the muscles around his chest constricting slowly as he pushed all of his effort into breathing. Slowly, so slowly, they released, and he sucked in a grateful, unimpeded breath.

It turned into a half-sob as another wave of pain wracked his body; his nerves fired so frequently that he couldn't remember what it felt like to feel no pain. A current of nerve pain burned across his back, setting fire to his spine and shooting down his legs. His one working arm and leg were on the same side, so he struggled to his feet with difficulty.

He forced himself to put one foot in front of the other, dragging the useless side of his body along as he lumbered towards his goal. He fell, heavily, as his left leg gave out, writhing with the pain of Orochimaru's jutsu.

Fugaku was finding it extremely difficult to think, but he knew that Orochimaru's jutsu was in its final stages. He'd woken up outside of the village, with no memory of how he'd escaped and what he'd had to do to get out of the safe house.

**_Go to Orochimaru, he'll stop the pain_** _,_  his brain chanted; his system was desperate for the source of the drug that had ravaged his body and had destroyed his mind. Fugaku knew that he was beyond help; anything that he did was out of his control from this point on.

**_Find your master. Surrender your sharingan to him; he knows how to make the agony stop._ **

He forced his guilt at the possibility that he'd hurt Gai, Lee, and Kiba down deep as he struggled to his feet and continued into the forest. The trees cast deep shadows across his vision, moving and warping into nightmarish shapes as the jutsu continued to attack his brain.

The sound of his muffled sobs and laboured breathing echoed through the deserted forest as he rounded the final corner to the hidden Uchiha burial ground. There was one in the village, but the real one was out in the forest, miles from the village proper. His clan had always jealously guarded their kekkei genkai, they weren't stupid enough to leave their corpses somewhere where the sharingan could easily be stolen.

_I have to get to Shisui._

_He needs his eyes back._

_If I hide the sharingan, I'll be useless to Orochimaru and his plan will fail._

_Get to Shisui, get to Shisui, and go to Shisui's grave!_

It took him the better part of an hour to force his way along the paths of the cemetery; he stubbornly refused to look at the gravestones of his ancestors, ashamed of how far he had fallen from grace. Tears ran anew down his face, not only from pain, but also from grief.

He'd led the Uchiha to the brink of destruction; he refused to allow himself to be used any longer. He collapsed next to Shisui's grave, murmuring desperate apologies to his nephew as his short fingernails scrabbled across the hard-packed earth of the grave.

He dug, furiously, for what felt like hours, making very little progress due to his one working arm. He barely noticed that a stream of apologies and pleas for forgiveness left his lips; he was too busy trying to fix what he'd broken. He hoped against all hope that Shisui would understand why he was trying to dig him up.

It wasn't bad enough that Fugaku had killed Shisui after requesting that he return home early from a mission, now he could add desecrating a grave to the list of sins he had to atone for. Fugaku wished bitterly that he could have a second chance. He would have done so many things differently.

_Shisui deserved so much better than me. I failed him, and I should be the one in this coffin._

Finally, when his torn hand scraped across the top of Shisui's coffin, he stopped for a moment before he punched through the wood.

_I don't know if I have the strength._

Fugaku settled back on his haunches, still breathing with difficulty. He forced himself to swallow and take a deep breath. He raised his hand to cover his eyes, his fingers hooked like claws as he readied himself for the pain of digging out Shisui's eyes from his sockets. Tears ran down his face and splattered in the dirt as he contracted the muscles in his hand.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

The oily remark that came slithering out of the darkness sent a dark bolt of dread straight down Fugaku's spine, and he dropped his hand to look his enemy in the eye. Orochimaru stepped into the moonlight, regarding Fugaku with the glittering eyes of a madman.

"Orochimaru," Fugaku forced out, feeling the acrid taste of hatred and fear swirling through his mouth. "You're too late. I'm going to destroy it-"

"No, you aren't."

Fugaku let out a bitter laugh, raising his hand once again. His fingers dug into his eye socked and he let out a gasp of pain as his short, ragged nails dragged across his sclera. He distantly heard Orochimaru hiss in anger and felt as wicked, dark, viscous chakra washed over him.

_This is it. This is how I die_ , Fugaku thought sadly, his thoughts flashing to Itachi and Sasuke.

"You're not going to die. You're still useful to me," Orochimaru purred, stepping closer. As if he'd flicked a switch, the rest of Fugaku's body went numb and he crumpled to the ground, desperately trying to breathe as his body writhed from a lack of air. "My chakra is depleted, I had to deal with something earlier, but we're still cooking with gas."

_No! I damaged my eyes-_

"You didn't do anything to the eyes that I won't be able to heal," the Sannin continued, as if he could read Fugaku's mind. "You will be reborn as something more powerful than you ever could have imagined."

Orochimaru peered into Fugaku's face, his maniacal grin flashed in the moonlight. "I'll send your sons my regards."

His mouth opened impossibly wide as black spots began to swim in Fugaku's vision. He didn't even feel Orochimaru's fangs sinking into his jugular as he suffocated. His limbs ceased to move, and his chest fell one last time as Orochimaru's senjutsu took effect.

_Shisui._

_Mikoto._

_Sasuke._

_Itachi._

_Forgive me._


	38. The Battle Begins Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Konoha holds its breath as the threat of Orochimaru's attack becomes a reality.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeek! It's finally here! I can't express how excited I am to finally be at this point in the story. I'll try to update as quickly as I can, the suspense is actually killing me! Thank you so much for the support, it means so much to me. I hope you enjoy this chapter. :) xx

Sakura's eyes fluttered open.  She squinted in the bright early morning light; the sunlight streaming through a gap in the curtains felt like it was burning straight into her retinas.  She yawned hugely and glanced over her shoulder at Itachi.  He slept deeply, his arm thrown over her waist.  She felt her eyes crinkling in a smile as she took in the sight of him, all mussed and rosy-cheeked.  He was usually awake before she was, so she always felt like she'd won somehow if she was up first.  

She took a moment to watch him, her heart fluttering as he sighed, snuggling closer to her.  His expression was so open, so relaxed, that she felt a blush rising into her cheeks.  There were only two times when he looked like this; when he was sleeping, and right after they'd been intimate.  Sakura took a deep breath, trying to force her thoughts back to the present; it wasn't the time to jump his bones.

But he really did look  _good_ , and she tried to ignore the way that her heart thundered in a staccato tempo against her ribs.   _I need a cold shower_ , she thought with a smile, trying to strategically extract herself from his embrace.  

Sakura moved slowly, gingerly out from under his arm, genuinely shocked when his eyes didn't flick open.   _He must be exhausted_ , she thought with wonder, reaching over to brush his hair out of his face.  She was tempted to wake him up, but he looked so peaceful that she didn't want to disturb him.  

She checked the clock on the wall, thinking that it had to be nearly time to meet Tsunade, but she was pleasantly surprised to find that it was only six-thirty; she had plenty of time to get ready.  The memories of the night before suddenly slammed into her and she fought down the urge to puke. 

Her anxiety spun around in circles in her stomach, forcing her to take a deep breath and try to calm the flood of ice in her veins.  She muffled the sound of her frantic breaths and tried her hardest to focus on something that wasn’t related to Konoha’s impending doom. 

She settled on a memory of training with Naruto, Kakashi, and Sasuke.  The familiar feelings of nostalgia and contentment that she associated with this particular memory slowly began to dilute the adrenaline in her veins, and her heartbeat began to slow. 

_Don’t freak out yet.  You have time.  Breathe, Sakura._

The panic slowly retreated, and she heaved a sigh, her hand pressed to her heart.  It thumped steadily under her palm, centering her.

  _I can’t take much more of this._

She stood up, stretched, and then immediately bit back a small groan of pain as her muscles strained, flooding her body with a sense of overwhelming soreness.   _Ugh.  Remind me not to drop eight stories onto a concrete floor again._

She padded silently to the bathroom, easing the door closed with a tiny click.  She concentrated and cast a silencing jutsu over the bathroom, trying to ignore the little voice in her head that told her to leave the door open; Itachi wouldn't be an unwelcome addition to her shower.   _That defeats the point of the cold shower._    _Focus, Sakura._

She chuckled softly, trying to breathe deeply and thwart the wave of anxiety that still threatened to engulf her.  She hurriedly turned the water on.   Her body was not her friend right now, and she just needed to clear her head.  Sakura chalked it up to a mixture of exhaustion, frustration, and stress. 

_I can’t do what needs to be done if I’m falling apart every two seconds.  You’re going to have to be strong for everyone else.  Don’t let your fear in._

_That’s what Orochimaru wants.  If you panic and freeze up, he wins._

The thought made her blood heat with fury.  The water was freezing, which was exactly what she needed.  Shivering, she gave a small sigh of relief as her muscles relaxed slightly.  

Cracking her neck, she directed chakra down the length of her body, washing away the bruising and superficial cuts that she'd collected.  She felt herself growing annoyed as she healed some of the deeper bruises, but thoughts of the previous night kept her calm.  Itachi had listened to what she'd had to say, and she was secretly very proud of him for admitting that he was in the wrong. 

They still had a lot of work to do to work out their issues; she was still hesitant to let him out of her sight.  It wasn’t even the thought of her safety that gave her pause; it was what Itachi might do if she was threatened again.  With the eminent battle approaching, it was better to stay close.  With that being said, she knew that they’d made some real progress.

 _There's nothing more attractive than a guy who's willing to admit when he's made a mistake._   _But, man, having open communication in a relationship is exhausting._   _When it’s safe, I’m going to sleep for ten years._

Shutting the water off, she quickly toweled off and opened the door, trying her hardest not to make any noise. 

She sighed, glancing at Itachi's sleeping form again as she got dressed.  She was tempted to put on the coffeepot, but she didn't really feel like drinking a cup that was more dust than caffeine.  She thought for a moment, debating whether she should just go straight to Tsunade's office or somewhere else first.  

She was just popping into the bathroom to brush her hair when she remembered that she'd chopped most of it off in a panic the night before.  Her hands ran through the short, uneven ends; now that it was daytime she looked like a crazy woman.  

 _Wow, it really looks like you did it with a kunai.  Naruto would have done a better job than you_ , she thought, letting herself mourn the loss of hair that she'd spent so much time growing.  

_Oh well, at least no one could try to grab it in a fight._

Finally, after she gave up on trying to arrange her part so that she looked less neurotic, she sighed and made the decision to pop over to Ino's.  _I'm going to get a scolding, but at least she won't let me leave her place looking like a scarecrow._

She closed the front door gently, locking it with a quiet click.  Tromping down the stairs, she decided to take a shortcut to Ino's place.  Now that she'd seen the state of her hair in the daylight, it wouldn't help any of the rumors swirling around about her if she continued to walk around looking like a cavewoman. 

She made it in record time, knocking on the door and hoping that Ino was home.  

Sakura determinedly didn't think about the fact that Orochimaru was probably speeding towards Konoha.    _Nope, don't go there.  Don't do it, Sakura.  Breathe, girl._

She'd barely made it through the first set of their "secret childhood knocking pattern" when the door was flung open and Ino pulled her inside.  She let out a squeak, almost tripping over the threshold as Ino bodily yanked her into the foyer of her house.  "Forehead, get in here! You have some explainin' to do!" 

"Wah!" was her only response as she recovered her balance, glaring at her friend through the veil of hair that had flopped over her face.  "What was that-" 

She cut off as she took in Ino's shocked expression, her hand flying up to touch her hair self-consciously.  "Please help," she said plaintively, a grin spreading across her face as Ino ran straight to her bathroom to get her hair scissors.  

"Sit down, Sakura!"  She called, making a huge racket as she rummaged around in her drawers, swearing and tossing what sounded like cans of cat food, keys, and glass bottles to the ground as she searched.  Sakura knew that she had a large collection of beauty supplies, but it appeared that it had grown exponentially in the last six months since she'd been home.  

Sakura made her way into the living room, and was about to fling herself down on the couch when it suddenly moved.  She let out a small squawk of surprise as Shikamaru blearily glared at her, rolling onto his back and staring at her with reproach.  "Watch it," he grumbled, rubbing his eyes and yawning hugely.  

"What are you doing here?"  She asked curiously, glancing over her shoulder at the bathroom, which was still filled with the sounds of Ino searching for her shears.  It sounded like a small battle was being raged in there.  

"I was searching the whole damn village until about two hours ago," he replied, stretching and sitting up.  He scratched his head, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.  "Before you ask, no, we didn't find Fugaku." 

Sakura had a gut feeling that they wouldn't, and she sat down heavily on the spot that Shikamaru's legs had just vacated.  "Thanks for trying."

"Hey, don't freak out yet.  We'll find him."  He said it so earnestly that she almost believed him.  She smiled weakly, settling down and waiting for Ino to finish digging in the endless pit that was her makeup drawer.  She couldn’t help her invasive question; it looked like a lot had changed since she’d last been home.

"So… you and Ino, huh?" 

"Nah," he replied, settling into a cross-legged position and crossing his arms.  "Her place is where I always crash when I'm working late.  She's always got food." 

_Temari won't be happy to hear that._

Sakura hummed in agreement, relieved when Ino finally popped out, brandishing her scissors with no small measure of triumph.  "I knew that they were in there somewhere!  So, spill!  What the hell happened to you?!" 

Sakura allowed herself to be towed to an armchair, sitting obediently so that Ino could get to her savagely chopped ends. She noticed that Shikamaru had straightened up out of his slouch and was listening with interest.  She sighed; it was better to get it over with sooner rather than later.  

"Uh, well, okay, so it starts with when I resurrected Sasuke-" 

She launched into her story, spurred on by Ino's well-timed gasps and loud exclamations of "he didn't!" and "you're kidding!"s. 

When she finally reached the part where Itachi had unleashed the Amaterasu, Shikamaru's mouth flapped open and he sprang to his feet.  

"So what you're tellin' me, is that you have used a sharingan, Itachi has control over  _Sasuke's_  old eyes enough to use the highest form of doujutsu, and Sasuke has enough control over  _Itachi's_ old eyes to put it out?!" 

"Yeah, I guess."  She asked curiously, oddly relaxed by the soft sound of Ino's scissors on her hair.  "Do you want to know anything else?" 

"I'll write out a list later.  I like to know what I'm dealing with," he replied, shrugging.  "Sasuke can put out the flames too, that's good to know." 

"So you cut your hair off," Ino said wistfully, inspecting her ends and flapping her hand.  "You spent so long growing it-" 

Sakura laughed, craning her neck back so that she could look Ino in the face.  "It's just hair.  It gets in the way while I'm fighting anyways." 

"It's so pretty though!  And, I bet Itachi likes to grab onto it-" 

"Okay, that's my cue," Shikamaru muttered hurriedly, rising to his feet and stalking down the hallway to the front door.  

Sakura's blush reached all the way down to her toes.  "Um, yeah.  He does," she said lamely, laughing at Ino's mock-surprised gasp. 

"You little minx!  Tell me  _everything_."  

"Pig, we don't have time!  I'll tell you  _after_  Orochimaru's dead.  I have to meet the Hokage, so hurry up."

* * *

 

Sasuke rolled over, stuffing his fingers in his ears to try and block out the sound of Naruto's snores.  He was in the living room, and he could  _still_ hear it.  He tossed and turned for another hour.  Finally, he couldn't take it anymore.  He stood up, stalking to the bathroom and taking a very fast, very annoyed shower.  He didn't hesitate to slam the door when he left, completely confident that Naruto wouldn't hear a thing.  

Sasuke moved quickly through the apartment building, his sandals tacking against the concrete floor as he sped down the stairwell.  

He had strapped on all of his weapons, and had even borrowed a spare flak jacket from Naruto.  He didn't know when shit was going to hit the fan, but he wanted to be prepared.  His katana tapped rhythmically against his shoulder blades as he walked, it was a comforting weight that made him feel like he was in control.  

His muscle memory took over, leaving his mind free to wander.  He didn't know if Sakura was aware that he knew where she lived; he'd lost count of the times that he'd attempted to pluck up enough nerve to go and visit after he'd left the team.   

Between his father's demands and his own insecurities telling him that she wanted nothing to do with him, he'd never actually knocked on her door. He'd managed to convince himself that he'd lost their friendship; it was easier to pretend that he'd wanted to make his father proud more than he'd craved their company.  He knew now that he'd been wrong, and that fact gave him more strength than he ever could have found on his own.  

He was a little too good at putting distance between himself and others, however, slowly but surely, he was starting to feel like he'd regained most of what he'd lost.  Earning back Sakura and Naruto's trust was at the top of his to-do list, more or less adjacent to wanting to kill his father.  

He would die again before he let any of his friends get hurt.  

He strode down the street, keeping to the alleyways.  The last thing that he wanted was to be stopped and asked how he was still alive.  That was a conversation that he was dreading.  People could be dreadfully nosy, and he wasn’t in the habit of talking about his personal life. 

_Two blocks, then turn right.  Sakura'd better be there._

He knew that Itachi would be with her, and he didn't think that he was quite finished yelling at him yet.  He felt a flicker of quiet admiration for Sakura; the way that she'd yelled at Itachi had made him feel a little bit better.  He'd been absolutely horrified to see the Amaterasu; that was just about the only technique that he was afraid of, and for good reason.  

He couldn't take the thought of Itachi going dark, not when they were dangling off the edge of a precipice as it was.  He was just starting to feel like he and Itachi had re-established their brotherly bond, the last thing he wanted was to tear that apart.  With all of his close family members dead (Fugaku was as good as), Itachi was it.  

Sasuke had always been told by his father that Itachi was a ruthless, cold-hearted killer who used people for his own gain.  After finding out that Itachi was the complete opposite, his uncharacteristic willingness to kill to save Sakura had put a black mark in Sasuke's trust in his brother.  Sasuke was just starting to realize that Itachi was a lot more complicated than he was.  He grudgingly had to admit that he might have done the same thing to save someone that he loved, had their positions been reversed.  

Sasuke liked to see things in stark black and white, and now that he was seeing shades of grey, he didn't like it one bit.  

Sasuke's already dark mood deepened as he turned a corner and almost ran into a man coming from the opposite direction.  He was about to grunt out an apology when he realized that it was Shikamaru.  They stared at each other in complete silence for a few long seconds before Shikamaru lit up a cigarette and raised an eyebrow at him.  

"Yo," he murmured smoothly, blowing out a long stream of smoke.  "You look pretty good, for a dead guy." 

"Thanks," Sasuke said drily, inwardly thrilled to see his old friend.  "You've looked better." 

"Yeah, you could say that again.  You Uchiha are too damn troublesome," Shikamaru said just as drily, holding out a hand.  Sasuke shook it, feeling a small grin slide over his mouth as they quietly got reacquainted.  "You seen Sakura?" 

"Yeah, she's at Ino's.  Ino's gonna be thrilled to see you," Shikamaru muttered, shrugging and flicking ash off of his cigarette.  "It's amazing what dying will do to fix her burning hatred for you." 

"That's not fair."  Sasuke's tone deepened as he bristled.  "Sakura and I were never an item, she can't act like-" 

"I don't give a shit, Uchiha, but you gotta deal with her best friend.  She doesn't like you for a reason." 

"That was one time, and I didn't even know that Sakura-" 

"Save it for the girls."  Shikamaru grinned, gesturing towards Ino's house with a lazy wave.  "Ino's fixing her hair." 

Before Sasuke could say anything, he sauntered off, whistling cheerfully.  Sasuke glared at his retreating back, steeling himself for the inevitable confrontation with Ino. He sighed deeply and made his way through the streets to Ino's house, dreading the reunion.  He knocked twice, completely nonplussed when Ino flung the door open, her eyes widening with surprise.  

"What the hell are you doing here?"  She demanded, looking him up and down and raising one eyebrow appreciatively.  "Sakura did a good job." 

"I'm here for her," he muttered, brushing past her and ignoring her annoyed groan.  "Sakura?" 

"Sasuke, did you find out anything?"  

Sasuke stopped in his tracks, his brow furrowing as Sakura stood up, taking in the sight of her cropped hair.  Now that the ends had been smoothed out, she looked good, cute even.

He punched down the tiny flush that threatened to warm his cheeks and crossed his arms as he sat down on Ino's couch.  He couldn't see her expression, but he got a smug feeling of satisfaction to know that she was already annoyed with him.  He knew that he was right when she let out a small huff. 

"Not really.  Naruto and I couldn't find Fugaku," he muttered, watching Sakura out of the corner of his eye.   "He's gone." 

Sakura swore, loudly and vigorously as she began to pace, her hair flying around her shoulders as she spun on her heel and waved her hands in frustration. 

"Why does Fugaku have to be the common denominator in every scenario that doesn't go according to plan?!  I looked everywhere, the shrine, the cemetery.  I went to the Uchiha district and was told that I should go and check out the burial ground.  I even went to your grave, Sasuke-" 

"Wait-"  Sasuke stood up suddenly, his stomach dropping as he considered her words.  "Which grave?" 

She stopped in her tracks, staring at him with no small measure of confusion.  "What do you mean  _which_  grave?  The Konoha cemetery..?  What aren't you telling me?"

Sasuke let out a short laugh. It was a cold, bitter sound.  

"Son of a bitch," he muttered, striding towards the door, knowing full well that she was half a step behind.  

"Sasuke, what the hell-" 

He took off, running at top speed towards the Uchiha cemetery.  

"There are two graveyards," he shot over his shoulder, not even surprised when he saw that Ino was running along with them.  "There's another burial ground, where the Uchiha keep their real bodies-" 

He was cut off by Sakura's loud gasp.  "Are you telling me that I cried over an  _empty grave for months_?!  I planted _tomatoes_ there for you!"  

Sasuke was surprised to find that he was unaffected by that fact.  The sentiment still counted, as far as he was concerned.  He could still pick the tomatoes when they were ready, it didn't really matter where they were.  

He fought the urge to chuckle at Ino's confused reply.  

"Uh, I've worked at a flower shop for _years_ , and tomatoes aren't exactly a common grave flower. Plus, they're nasty."  

"Shut up, Ino!"  

Sasuke's eyebrows shot upwards and he listened in admiring silence as Sakura began to swear again, fluently and enthusiastically.  She was pretty good.   _Tsunade must have taught her a few new ones._  She only swore when she was in a horrible mood, and that was just fine with him.  Sakura did some of her best work when she was furious.  

"Where is this secret graveyard?"  Ino demanded, keeping pace with no trouble.  He wasn't surprised; she'd always been one of the higher scoring genin in their class.  "Why the hell do you have two?  It's the kekkei genkai?"

"Yeah. Follow me and I'll show you," he replied, running up the side of a tall building and hopping over the wall.  The three of them ignored the shouts of the guards and sentries.  "Who gives a fuck if I break a few more rules." 

They paused long enough for Ino to persuade the lookouts that they were working for the Hokage, and to let them through, otherwise Sakura was going to blast a hole in the village wall.  Sasuke almost chuckled as they retreated, throwing a grudgingly impressed look at Ino.  

"What, Uchiha?"  She demanded, her hands on her hips as she tossed her long hair over her shoulder.  "Sakura would have done it!" 

"Tch, nothing," he grumbled, catching Sakura's eye as she grinned.  

"She's right.  Now, you were going to take us to your secret burial spot..?"  Sakura trailed off meaningfully, clearly trying not to yell at him for keeping such a huge secret.  He didn't respond, simply took off into the forest, the other two shinobi trailing close behind.  

The trees flickered past so quickly that they were almost a blur, and still, they moved faster.  Sasuke's blood thundered in his ears and he could feel excitement welling through his veins.  He found himself filled with dark glee; he might finally have the chance to kill his father.  

He was too caught up in his thoughts to see the dark expression that Sakura wore openly on her face.  Had he looked back at her, he would have immediately figured out that she was planning to intervene on any kind of half-baked revenge plot that he'd managed to come up with by the time they got to the graveyard. 

Ino kept up an incessant flow of questions, which he answered with one-word responses and sounds that could only be described as grunts. 

"How long have you known about this?" 

"Tch, years." 

"How many graves are there?" 

"Hundreds."

"How the hell do you crazy Uchiha keep that many bodies from being discovered?" 

"Genjutsu." 

"No shit, Sasuke!  That's not what I'm asking and you know it!"  She hollered hotly, prompting Sakura to laugh. 

Sasuke had to fight a small, triumphant smirk away from his lips as Ino got progressively more frustrated with his lackluster answers.  It was payback for years of her passive and straight up aggressive comments about his relationship (or lack thereof) with Sakura.  He could be  _very_ petty, and that didn't bother him one bit.  

"Uchiha, you still haven't learned how to play with others, and goddamn it-" 

"Lay off, Pig.  He's got a lot going on right now," Sakura muttered, sounding so exhausted that he nearly turned around to check on her.  

"We all do!" Ino replied, just loud enough for Sasuke to hear her.  "He's not the only one who's stressed out!" 

"This is different.  He's busy trying to think of a way to get revenge on Fugaku, and you're interrupting his brooding," Sakura said bluntly, rolling her eyes at him when his head snapped around to glare at her.  His frustration was tempered by the knowing glint in her eye.  He knew that she would hold Fugaku down while he punched him.  Maybe they would even take turns for a while.  

The thought filled him with a twisted sort of affection.  Turning his attention back to the task at hand, he slowed to a stop and put a hand out, cautioning the other two from passing the spot where he stood.  

"Careful, wait for me to break the genjutsu," he murmured, summoning his sharingan.  The familiar warmth of its activation streamed over his eyes, and he allowed his chakra to pulse outwards.  The genjutsu resisted for a split-second before it melted away, rippling away from the forest like sunlight through water.  

Ino gasped and Sakura swore quietly as the sprawling Uchiha burial ground was revealed.  Sasuke didn't move for a moment, taking in the sight of the giant trees that cradled the secret spot.  The sight of them brought a wave of sorrow; his mother was buried here.  

"Sasuke, it's huge!"  Sakura breathed, her eyes scanning over the area with no small measure of amazement.  "That's one hell of a genjutsu." 

"My father is most likely going to be at Shisui's grave," Sasuke said shortly, jogging down one of the pathways with no hesitation.  His heartbeat accelerated as he got closer to his mother's grave; the pain of her death had never ebbed away.  

"How do you know that?"  Sakura asked, still slightly breathless from the pace of their run.  

"He would have preferred Shisui for a son," Sasuke muttered, trying to ignore the jealously that threatened to seep into his thoughts.   He wasn’t in the mood to go into details. 

Sakura began to protest, but cut off abruptly as he suddenly stopped in his tracks, ice winding through his veins as his stomach plummeted into his knees.  Shisui's grave had been disturbed.  Piles of recently-dug up earth surrounded the plot, and Sasuke knew that they were too late. 

Sakura ran past him, her chakra blossoming out from her hands as she inspected a pool of dark, reddish liquid on the ground.  "It's blood.  This whole place feels like-" 

"It's Orochimaru's chakra," Sasuke said slowly, his heartbeat thundering in his ears as he stared at the aftermath of his father's last moments.  "He's completed the transfer." 

"We need to get back to the Hokage, now!"  Sakura said sharply, turning and darting off into the forest.  Sasuke didn't have to look at her to know that she was fighting back tears.  They had failed, and now Orochimaru had a mangekyou sharingan.  

* * *

 

_Fugaku stood silhouetted in front of the setting sun, his dark hair rustling as a strong  wind picked up, snapping at their clothes and blowing their hair about in wild tangles.  Itachi stopped in his tracks, keeping his distance as his father turned and surveyed him with an unreadable expression in his eye._

_“My son,” he said finally, gesturing for Itachi to join him.  Cautiously, Itachi obliged, summoning his sharingan and preparing himself for a fight._

_“Fugaku,” he greeted softly, unsure as to the purpose of this dream._

_His father said nothing for a moment, simply surveyed him with a slightly raised eyebrow.  Itachi was disconcerted by the soft, open set of Fugaku’s eyes; his father hadn’t looked at him like this for nearly fifteen years._

_“I suppose I deserve that.  I can’t expect to gain your forgiveness, Itachi-“_

_“No, you can’t,” Itachi interrupted, fighting down a surge of anger that threatened to rise out of him. “You can’t ask for that.”_

_Fugaku sighed, crossing his arms and turning once more to stare at the sunset.  “I’ll pay for my crimes, Itachi, you can be sure of that.  Make sure that you don’t let your brother make the same mistakes that I did; you two are the only good things that I ever managed to create.”_

_Itachi said nothing.  He had no words.  His emotions rioted within him, and he was about to attempt to express the depths of his frustrations when he was stopped by his father putting up a hand._

_“Remember what you were taught, Itachi.  You must see everything.  If you are blinded by distraction or hesitation, you will be cut down.  Don’t let Orochimaru win.”_

_With that, he turned and walked away into the sunset, leaving behind a very confused Itachi.  His body started to move of its own accord, but no matter how fast he ran, he couldn’t catch up to his father’s rapidly retreating back-_

Itachi’s eyes flicked open, and he reflexively reached his hand out for Sakura.  He was surrounded by her scent, and he took a moment to breathe deeply; the scent of cinnamon and honey was calming. To his surprise, the bed was empty, her side was cold.  His brow furrowed in sleepy confusion as he scanned her room and searched for her chakra signature in the apartment. 

There was no sign of her, he was alone. 

He rolled over onto his back, trying to calm his racing heart as he pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes.  Itachi sat up, breathing slowly and deeply as his pulse returned to normal and the thin sheen of sweat that covered his skin dried.  He ran a hand through his hair and slowly extricated himself from the twisted sheets. 

_That dream was strange.  I can’t shake the feeling that it was somehow a warning.  It doesn’t matter now._

_I know that my father is dead, I can feel it._

He glanced at the clock on the nightstand and couldn’t help his tiny huff of surprise.  It was already nine-thirty.  He’d slept for more than nine hours, which was longer than he’d rested in years.  His chakra had been more depleted than usual after the technique that he’d deployed using the crows.  The Amaterasu had taken more out of him than he’d expected as well.  He needed to be more careful, he couldn’t afford to overextend himself. 

He concentrated for a moment, summoning a crow with a mental command and a quick nip to the heel of his palm.  Kage puffed into existence, fluffing his wings and inclining his head in a silent question. 

“Itachi-sama,” he croaked, hopping onto Itachi’s shoulder as Itachi smoothed his index finger across the inky feathers of his wing. 

“Thank you for your help last night,” he murmured, glancing down at his hands where they now rested on his lap.  “I’m afraid that I require more of your assistance.”

“Of course.  How can we help?” 

“Take your family and scatter into the air.  Orochimaru will be here shortly, and I want to be as prepared as possible.”

“Be careful, Itachi-sama,” the raven replied, flapping over to the window as Itachi strode over and unlocked it.  Without another word, his familiar took off from the windowsill; the early morning sunlight made his pitch-black feathers shine like they’d been polished.

Without wasting another moment, Itachi left the apartment, locking the door behind him and replacing the key on top of the door frame.  He made a mental note to tell Sakura that she should keep it in a better hiding spot and then set off for the Hokage tower. 

Itachi decided to keep to the rooftops, preferring to stay out of the way of the civilians who milled about in the streets, blissfully unaware of what had transpired the night before.  Once again, he silently thanked Sasuke for his timely arrival. 

If the flames had remained unchecked for any longer, lives would have been lost.  The unconscious shinobi would have died horribly, burning to death as the flames spread, searching for anything that would burn. 

He didn’t regret his choice, hell, he’d make it again in a heartbeat if it meant that he could have saved Sakura from the agony of torture, but there was a small part of him that was horrified by what he’d done. 

He’d spent so much of his life trying to protect others, to only kill when absolutely necessary or in self-defence.  His choice to kill as many people as it took to free Sakura was so out of character that he was left with a lingering sense of guilt.  It didn't matter that he hadn't gone through with it, it was the intention that mattered.  

He still didn’t know what he would have done if he’d found her dead. 

Itachi knew his own mind, knew his heart, and knew who he was.  He had always prided himself on maintaining the balance between his body, heart, and mind.  What he didn’t know was what he could be capable of if the woman he loved was taken from him. 

_There it is.  That’s the truth._

He vaulted over the gap between two buildings, continuing to run towards the massive tower.  To his relief, he wasn’t stopped or questioned by any of the shinobi who ran past him on the thieves’ highway.  He wasn’t in the mood to explain why he was back in the village. 

 _Sakura and Sasuke must have done some damage control_ , he thought with a small smirk.  _There’s another reason for me to be thankful for her._  

His mind ticked quickly over the discussion that he’d had with Sakura the night before.  He knew, without a doubt, that she made him work harder to be a good person.  It wasn’t enough to want to be good; one had to consciously work at it.  Being with her made it clear to him that he wasn’t quite there yet. 

He had potential, that much he did know, but he was a constant work in progress.  But if there was one thing that Itachi was good at, it was relentlessly pursuing a goal. 

The corner of his mouth ticked up as he considered the way that she’d yelled at him.  It never failed to put him in a good mood when she got all riled up.  He made a mental note to tease her more often. 

His thoughts were interrupted by the sudden arrival of Sakura, Sasuke, and Ino Yamanaka at the base of the tower.  He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but he knew by the tone of Sakura’s voice and the set of Sasuke’s jaw that something was very wrong.  Ino took off towards the hospital, leaving Sakura and Sasuke to talk intensely amongst themselves. 

Instinctively he knew what it was.  Fugaku was dead, or gone, or worse.  He stopped for a moment on a nearby rooftop, watching as they darted inside the tower.  He glanced up, and making a split-second decision, he shot chakra into his feet and ran up the side of the tower.  He made it up to the Hokage’s window in record time and tapped gently on the glass.

He wasn’t stupid enough to enter without permission. 

Tsunade’s face loomed into his sightline, and he almost smirked at the exasperated expression on her face; she obviously hadn’t accepted that the window was both a convenient and dramatic entrance point.  Itachi caught sight of Kakashi standing behind her, and he inclined his head slightly in respect. 

The Hokage twisted the lock open and slid the window up, her expression steely. 

“Uchiha, you’ve gotta stop doing that-“ Tsunade began to scold him, her tone low and irritated as he smoothly maneuvered himself inside, “-you’re in no position to be bending the rules-“

“Hokage-sama, my brother and Sakura will be outside your door in three seconds.”

“I-what?”

He simply inclined his head towards her office door. 

_Three._

_Two._

_One._

Tsunade opened her mouth to ask another question when she was interrupted by a frantic series of knocks.  She threw Itachi a look that let him know that she wasn’t impressed.  “Come in!”

“Hokage-sama!  We found-“ Sakura half-stumbled into the room as Sasuke threw the door open with such force that the door frame protested by creaking loudly.  They paused as they took in the sight of him standing there. 

“Itachi?”  Sakura’s eyes widened, and she smiled at him.  A warm bubble of contentment took root in his chest, and he felt his heart begin to pound as her eyes lit up. 

“Morning,” he murmured, his steely expression softening as she walked over to him, his gaze raking over her hair.  He decided on the spot that he liked it short; she looked different somehow, stronger.  He had to forcibly reroute his thoughts as she turned back towards the Hokage, displaying the smooth column of her throat as her hair shifted across her shoulders.  

Yes, he liked her hair at this length.  A lot. 

“-we found out where Fugaku went after he escaped.”

His thoughts came to a screeching halt as he absorbed what Sakura was saying.  A trickle of worry wound into his veins as her statement registered; his dream had been right. 

_Fugaku is dead._

“There’s a second burial ground?  How did I not know about this?” Tsunade demanded, her eyes narrowing. 

“It’s a closely-guarded clan secret,” Itachi heard himself saying, as if from a distance.  His voice echoed hollowly in his own ears as he came to terms with the new information. 

“Tsunade-sama, we found Fugaku’s blood by Shisui's grave,” Sakura started, throwing a worried glance at Itachi.  “A lot of it.”

“Orochimaru has him.  We weren’t able to stop him,” Sasuke finished, crossing his arms and staring stonily out the window.  “His chakra was all over the place.”

Itachi’s heart skipped a beat, and he forced himself to concentrate.  He didn’t have time to decipher how he felt about Fugaku’s death; there would be plenty of time for that later.  He settled for an icy calm and turned to face Tsunade, determined to focus on the task at hand. 

“What’s our next move?”  He asked quietly, taking comfort from Sakura’s steady presence beside him as he surveyed Kakashi and the Hokage.  “Anything that you can think of to take down an Uchiha will need to be used.”

 _Orochimaru may have won this fight, but I’ll win the war_ , he thought darkly, sharing a meaningful look with Sasuke. 

“We’ll have to fight him the same way that we’d fight anyone else,” Tsunade replied, shaking her head.  “We’ll need to hit him fast and where it’ll hurt him the most.  We’ll need to take out his sharingan first, but I don’t think that we’ll have too much trouble given how many we have on our side.”

“I agree,” Kakashi murmured, nodding along. 

Itachi forced himself to take a deep breath.  There was nothing that he could do to change the situation, there was no use getting upset.  Silently, he willed Sasuke to stay calm. 

They couldn’t afford to fight with each other, not when Orochimaru was on the verge of winning. 

_Keep your cool, Sasuke._

* * *

 

"Itachi, Sasuke, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm sorry to hear that Fugaku's dead," Tsunade continued quietly, her honey-colored eyes softening with sorrow as she surveyed Itachi and Sasuke.  

"Are you..?"  Kakashi asked slowly, his visible eye widening.  "You hated him."

"Well, yes, but damn it, he had to go and make everything difficult all the time! Can you blame me?"  She grumbled, throwing him an exasperated look.  Sakura almost grimaced; that was a very stupid thing for him to say.  

"He tried to dig Shisui up, probably to give his eyes back, given the blood," Sasuke said bluntly, his features an emotionless mask.  Sakura could see a vein pulsing in his neck, and she resisted the urge to try to comfort him.  He needed to grieve in his own way, and she wasn't stupid enough to try and invoke his wrath.  

"What I don't get is why he went there in the first place," Sasuke continued, glaring at the Hokage. "How did he get out from under your watch?"

Tsunade, to her credit, didn't wilt under his intense gaze.  She met him with a glare that was just as icy.  Sakura couldn't help shrinking in on herself; the active chakra that swirled around the two of them wasn't a good sign; the last thing they needed was to start fighting amongst themselves.  

"That might be my fault.  I told him that he should return Shisui's eyes, if he really felt remorseful about what he's done.  But, that doesn't mean that the blame should fall to me, Uchiha," she said firmly, her tone leaving no room for negotiation.  

"Tell that to Kiba, Lee, and Gai.  I'm going to help Ino wake them up," Sasuke muttered, turning on his heel and leaving without another word.  

"You think that anyone who isn't an Uchiha could withstand a  _mangekyou_?!  He made his choice!  Sasuke, _don't_ walk away from me!"  

Sasuke's only response was to slam the door to Tsunade's office so hard that the walls rattled.  Sakura groaned, trying and failing to hide her frustration.   _Great.  I know his father just died, but really, Sasuke?!_

"He'll see reason, Tsunade-sama," Itachi murmured, his expression far away, "He's angry for a myriad of reasons. Give him space." 

"We don't have time!"  

Tsunade's expression darkened and she slammed her hands down on her desk without any warning. Sakura didn't flinch as the oak desk splintered and cracked under the force of the blow.  She would probably have done the same thing.

But Tsunade wasn't finished.  She turned on her bookshelves next, throwing them across the room and out of the window as she got all of her anger out.  Sakura was impressed when she punted the remains of her desk into the far wall, shattering the wooden door that led to her private study.    After a few minutes of raining destruction on her office, Tsunade came back to her senses and stopped, her eyes widening with shock and embarrassment.

"Oh. Well, shit."  

Tsunade let out a frustrated growl as she surveyed the damage, breathing hard as the rage ebbed out of her system.  "I guess you're in charge now, Itachi.  You have my congratulations on your appointment as clan leader, Uchiha-sama. Do you think that your clan will fight with us?" 

"As long as they know what Orochimaru did, then yes.  My family is fond of revenge," Itachi replied, his tone measured.  Sakura glanced over at him, squeezing his hand in hers.  He returned the pressure, his expression growing flintier by the second. 

He'd never wanted this, she knew that.  He'd confided in her that he would have gladly given up his position as heir if he'd been able to.  Itachi wanted nothing more than to retire and move somewhere where no one knew the name Uchiha.  Sakura couldn't blame him; she'd even offered to go with him.  

Itachi said nothing more, but the dark look in his eye spoke volumes.  

"Sakura, can you fight?"  Tsunade continued, as if Itachi hadn't spoken. "Against both kinds of curse marks?" 

“Both kinds?”   Sakura was confused; she didn’t know what her mentor was talking about.  “Did you find out something from Orochimaru's original research?”

Tsunade sighed, crossing her arms.  “I found out that our hostages were marked when I performed a double autopsy yesterday.  They took a pill that was filled with Orochimaru’s chakra.  He can activate it without the host’s consent, unlike any of the other marks that I’ve seen.”

“Well that’s a problem,” Kakashi said drily, shaking his head.  “Have either of you fought against a transformed host?”

“We both have,” Itachi replied, the ghost of a smile playing around his lips.  “Sakura’s better at it.  My sharingan can calm it, but her strength was more useful.”

“I don’t know if we can use this information to our advantage, just be aware that you might not be able to tell who is marked until Orochimaru decides that it’s time to unleash their power,” Tsunade said pointedly. 

“Understood,” they murmured in unison.  Sakura couldn’t stop her mind from running over everything that she’d seen in the testing facility.  She couldn’t think of a time when she’d seen a hidden mark activated, but she didn’t doubt Tsunade’s findings. 

“Tsunade-sama, the source of the marks is coming here under Gaara’s protection, maybe you should talk to him about what he knows?”

“Not a bad idea, Sakura.  Well done,” Kakashi said cheerfully, grinning at her behind the mask.  Itachi hummed his agreement.  She felt a flash of pride and tried to ignore the pleased flush that settled into the apples of her cheeks. 

“Good.  Sakura, are you up to fighting them if it comes down to it?” Tsunade pursed her lips and tapped her finger against her chin.  “I don’t want to risk your safety if you’re not in fighting shape.”

"I'm good as new."  

"Go on then.  Show me," Tsunade prompted, indicating with a wave of her hand which technique she was talking about.  Sakura grinned.  

Her whole system hummed with strength, and she tapped into it, running the energy through her veins.  Her muscles felt  _good_ , and she took a moment to test her chakra control, snapping her hands out and igniting a chakra blade. 

Sakura allowed her chakra to bloom outwards, sheathing her arms with a thick layer of glowing green energy.   She was careful to work around the dregs of Uchiha chakra that refused to leave her system, still unsure what she could do with it now that she didn’t have a sharingan anymore. 

Without much effort, she snuffed the chakra out and crossed her arms.  

"My chakra's running at full capacity.  As soon as things take off, I'll release my seal.  Orochimaru can't throw anything at us that I won't be able to destroy," she said flatly, hoping that she sounded more confident than she felt.  "I can summon Katsuyu to heal our forces when the seal is open."

"Good.  But, you won't be running medical; I'll need you on the front lines.  Give Orochimaru hell."  Tsunade's tone was neutral, but Sakura could hear the undercurrent of rage underneath her words.  "Leave Katsuyu to me unless you desperately need her, I’ll direct her power from here."  

Grinning wolfishly, Sakura caught Itachi's eye.  His expression was, as per usual, impassive, but the look in his eye told her all that she needed to know; she had impressed him.  

"So, since we probably have, at most, two hours before everything explodes, what's the plan?"  Itachi asked bluntly, crossing his arms and looking towards the Hokage.  

Tsunade thought for a moment before she shook her head.  "We should know better than to plan too far ahead.  Sakura and Itachi, I'm promoting you.  Kakashi will be acting general, and you two are getting command of your own squads." 

"Does that mean..?"  Sakura asked slowly, trying to wrap her head around what Tsunade was saying. 

"Yeah.  Congratulations, you outrank the clan heads.  You both have the rank of Lieutenant-General.  I guess you outrank yourself now, Itachi."  Tsunade let out a small chuckle, her expression intense.  Her amber eyes surveyed them with pride, and maybe a little bit of triumph.   

Sakura's eyebrows shot upwards, and she had to bite back a wave of excitement.  Her glee was quickly tempered by the reality of the situation, and she leaned against the windowsill, glancing sideways at Itachi.  His eyes flicked towards her, and he nodded minutely.  

"Noted.  What kind of squads are we commanding?" He asked softly, politely inclining his head as his hand subtly smoothed over Sakura's shoulder.  She hadn't realized how much tension she'd been holding in her body, and she hurriedly took a deep breath, almost sighing as her muscles relaxed.  

"That's up to you.  You've got my permission to pick and choose who you think you'll be able to fight best with.  I don't care about rank or protocol; pick the squads that will save Konoha." 

Kakashi scratched his head, planting his feet shoulder width apart and appraising them with his visible eye. 

"Sakura, you'd be better off choosing people who have as much strength as you do, or at least a fraction of it,"  he added hastily as both Tsunade and Sakura's eyes narrowed at him.  "Itachi, if you don't mind me saying so, your chances are better if you fight with the Uchiha." 

Itachi laughed softly, his eyes darkening into inky pools as he glared at the Copy Ninja.  "I don't mean any disrespect, but let me choose my own fighters.  Uchiha fighters depend too heavily on their sharingan.  A mixed team will cover all of the bases." 

"Spoken just like an ANBU captain," Kakashi shrugged, his silver hair bouncing.  "Alright, do what you want.  But, I want Shikamaru." 

Sakura chuckled, leaning into Itachi as his hand gently traced along the small of her back.  "He'll grumble about it, but go for it.  If I can request a few people?" 

Tsunade turned her attention over to her, a smile playing around the corners of her mouth.  "Who did you have in mind?”  

"I want Chouji, Hinata, Neji, and Hanabi.  My ninjutsu and Chouji's taijutsu can cripple our opponents physically, but I also want their chakra streams destroyed," she replied darkly, allowing a surge of anger to flood through her veins.  "I don't know how many of Orochimaru's cronies are marked, so I want them taken care of quickly." 

She didn't have to see Itachi's face to know that he agreed; his thumb traced small circles over her spine, sending shivers down the length of her back.  

"I like that plan," he murmured, turning his head to look her in the eye.  Her heartbeat accelerated as they shared a meaningful look, and the silence was only broken by Tsunade loudly clearing her throat.  Sakura quickly looked away, a blush burning over her cheeks as she forced her thoughts to return to the task at hand.  

“Good.  Give me a list and I’ll make sure that you have the recruits.  Now, get out of here, you have work to do.  Oh, Kakashi, I need you to find Naruto.  We need to go over a few last minute additions to the plan.”

“Yes, Hokage-sama!” 

Sakura made to leave for the door, but was stopped by Kakashi putting a hand up in a silent request for her to stay.  “Hang on, I’d like a word.  You too, Itachi.” 

Tsunade was already out the door, waving at them to continue their conversation without her. 

“Kakashi-sensei?”  Sakura couldn’t help her curiosity; Kakashi was acting strangely, even for him.  It made her nervous to see him so serious; she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was hiding something.   

“I want your word that you won’t intervene if Tsunade-sama, Asuma, and I confront Orochimaru,” he began carefully, watching them out of the corner of his eye.  “I know that you’ve got your reasons for wanting him dead, but the village needs you, _alive_.”

Sakura began to protest, but was silenced by Itachi’s hand squeezing her shoulder.  _No way, what the hell?!_

Itachi’s eyes narrowed slightly as he sized up the sixth (unofficial) Hokage, his expression unreadable.  “You do realize that your students won’t let you die.”

Kakashi’s eye widened, but he recovered quickly and grinned behind his mask.  “Why do you think I asked you to stay behind as well?  You understand what I’m asking.”

“Kakashi-sensei, you don’t honestly think that we’re going to stand back and let you get yourself killed?!”  Sakura demanded, shaking her head furiously.  “Absolutely not!  Naruto’s the heroic one, not you!”

She almost lost her composure as Itachi hastily muffled a chuckle.  “That’s not what I meant!  Kakashi-sensei, you’re not reckless!”

“Put your emotions aside and listen to me for a minute,” Kakashi replied sharply, his commanding tone quickly and effectively cutting off her objections.  She wilted slightly and held her breath, waiting for him to continue. 

“People are going to die, and we can’t have the next generation of the Konoha administration wiped out.  I’m not going to sugar-coat this; some of your friends are going to lose their lives.  My generation and the one before mine have done what we can.  In this situation, we’re expendable.  Let us put our lives on the line for Konoha.”

“No!”  Sakura tried to ignore the wave of panic that shot through her system.  “Don’t even talk about that-“

“I’ve lived through a war, the Nine-Tail’s attack, and a career in ANBU,” Kakashi said shortly, cutting off her sputtered protests.  “I’m not going to lie down and die.  All that I’m asking is that you allow us the opportunity to lay down our lives for Konoha.   Don’t jump in and shield us.”  

“We can’t afford to have the Uchiha clan head, next Hokage, Chief Medical Officer, and next potential ANBU general dead.  That’ll effectively cripple the village,” Itachi finished solemnly, nodding slightly. 

“ANBU general?”  Sakura asked slowly, confused by his list.  _He can’t be thinking-_

“Sasuke,” Kakashi answered, raising an eyebrow and surveying Itachi over his mask.  “I have a feeling that he has some serious changes in mind for the village, I’d rather have him on our side.  He’s made for the job.”

Sakura glanced at Itachi, uncertainty swirling in her stomach.  To her surprise, Itachi wore a small smirk.  “Not a bad idea,” he admitted, taking a deep breath and raising one eyebrow.  “We can discuss that later.”

“Kakashi-sensei, hold on a minute-“  Sakura finally snapped back to reality.  “If there’s something you’re not telling us, you’d better spit it out!”

“Nope!  Good luck!”  He replied cheerfully as he lazily saluted and then subsequently disappeared in a puff of smoke.  Sakura coughed violently as she fought to breathe.  As the smoke cleared, her jaw dropped to discover that a hunk of wood had suddenly appeared in his place, making a loud clunk as it hit the floor. 

_A substitution jutsu?!  What the hell?!  It’s like I’m a kid again!  When I get my hands on him-_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a full laugh from Itachi, who, to her extreme surprise, was now grinning. 

“He hasn’t changed.”

“I’m going to kill him,” Sakura muttered, following Itachi as he left the office, making their way towards the exit of the Hokage tower. 

“What’s your plan?”  He asked quietly, poking her in the forehead and jarring her out of her dark mood. 

“I’m going to get my team together, and then I’m going to the wall,” she replied, tapping her finger against her lips in thought.  “What are you thinking?”

“I need to talk to my clan.  They should know what’s happened,” he replied, a flash of uncertainty flitting across his expression before he schooled his features into an impassive mask once more. 

“Do you want me to come with you?”

He smiled gently, stepping towards her.   “No, I’ll handle it, but thank you.  Take care of what you need to do.”

“As long as you’re sure,” she trailed off, lacing his fingers with hers. 

“I am.”  Itachi kissed her quickly before he took off down the stairwell.  “I’ll find you later.  Good luck.”

“You too,” she murmured, watching him go.  She tapped her foot nervously as she thought, her mind whirring through what she needed to do before she could assign her squad to their task.  She bent and quickly dragged a kunai along her finger, drawing enough blood to summon Ringo.

The tiny slug puffed into sight, quivering with excitement.  “Sakura-san!  Everyone’s talking about the battle!  I’m ready to fight!”

“Your job is to keep yourself safe, little one,” Sakura chastised her gently, fondly reaching out and patting the small, slimy creature on the head.  “Can you find a few people for me?”

Ringo puffed up, eying Sakura with her tiny, bulbous eyes.  “You betcha!  Who are they?”

Sakura quickly rattled off the names, grinning as Ringo dutifully repeated them.  “Great, I’m counting on you.”

“I won’t let you down!”  She puffed away, and Sakura stood up again, feeling a little bit more confident as she absentmindedly waved away the smoke that still filled the air.  Without waiting to let herself get caught up in her dark imaginings, she took off towards the wall. 

On the way, she ran into the four people who she’d been hoping to find.  Ringo was a very fast worker. Chouji, Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi were more than willing to fight with her, and for that she was glad. 

What followed her meeting with the Hokage were two very anxious hours spent at the front gates, delegating tasks and allocating resources.  Sakura wasn’t new to the concept of leadership, but she certainly felt uneasy knowing that she was going to be responsible for Konoha’s first response to Orochimaru’s attack. 

She was very relieved to know that her reinstated status as the Hokage’s apprentice had been accepted without any obvious dissent; it made her job a hell of a lot easier if she didn’t have to persuade anyone that she was fighting on their side.  She wore a new Konoha headband, and that meant more to the shinobi of her village than any verbal promise ever could. 

“What’s your plan, Sakura?”  Neji asked quietly, his serene expression calming her as she stopped pacing to answer him. 

“I have no idea.  We’re going to have to access the threat when it gets here.  I don’t know if he’s going to bring anyone with him, but we need to be prepared for anything.  Have you got the fortification jutsu finished?”

“Yes,” Hinata said quietly, indicating on the map that they were poring over where the shinobi responsible for keeping the wall intact were located.  “The points of the sealing jutsu are ready to be activated.  They’ll wait for a flare.”

“Good,” Sakura sighed, running a hand through her hair.  “I don’t know how Shikamaru does it; I’m not cut out for strategy.”

Hinata smiled gently, shrugging.  “You’re doing a great job, just don’t panic.”

Sakura flushed slightly at her friend’s frank statement, and tried to act as nonchalant as possible.  “Yeah, yeah, okay.  I’m going to try and think my way out of any scenario that Orochimaru could hit us with.”

“We’ll just have to hit them harder,” Neji murmured, a rare smile playing around the corners of his mouth.

“Okay, so no pressure,” Sakura muttered, her expression darkening.  “I’ll just punch a Sannin to death, shall I?”

Her team sensibly left her alone after that. 

She felt like she was wearing a hole on the top of the wall as she paced, trying to out-think the most intelligent foe she’d ever encountered. 

A shout that unexpectedly rang out across the wall jerked her out of her thoughts.

“Haruno-sama, there’s a group heading towards the gates!”

“Fortification positions everyone; I want weapons leveled at the intruders!  Prepare the defensive jutsu; I don’t want to get caught by surprise!”  She called, her heartbeat accelerating as she fell into the position of commander, barking orders to prepare for the siege. 

She could hear the hum of activated chakra, and concentrated enough to see a shimmering miasma of energy surrounding the portal as metal gears were ground into place and the mechanisms sealed.  A bright flare exploded into the air above the village as the protection jutsu was activated.  Sakura didn’t know whether to feel safe or not; there was no telling if it would actually protect them against an army. 

There was a tense moment of silence.  Nothing happened.  Sakura wasn’t sure whether she wanted to scream or run headlong at the newcomers; the silence was deafening. 

“Haruno-sama, there’s someone who wants to talk to you!”

Chakra swirled into the air, sending her battle instincts into overdrive as she tried to isolate the signature.  She was too high up to tell who it was, but she relaxed incrementally when she realized that it wasn’t Orochimaru. 

Sakura's head snapped downwards as she recognized one of the chakra signatures; she felt more than heard the commotion at the front gates.  Abandoning her post, she took off towards the top of the fortified wall, peering over the lip of the stone at the ground below. 

Her chakra-sharpened eyes pierced through the slight mist that had gathered at the base of the wall. 

What she saw there frightened her. 

The first thing she saw was Juugo, his body was so battered and bruised that she barely recognized him.  He was supported by Gaara and a red-haired woman that she didn't know.  Sakura's heart flew into her throat as she visually assessed the damage to her ally, horrified by the amount of healing he was going to require.  

_Gaara!  He did manage to bring them, but at what cost?  I need to know what's happening, now!_

She quickly took in the sight of the large group of people who had come with him and put her hand to her mouth with no hesitation.  

Her ear-splitting whistle cut through the crowd like a knife, and she waited until all of their attentions were on here before she spoke.  "Open the gates!  Move it!  They’re allies!" 

The huge doors split open and separated, allowing the rag-tag band to file through the gateway into the village.  Sakura threw herself off the top of the wall, landing lightly in front of Juugo and darting forwards to help support him.  "Gaara, what happened?!" 

"Orochimaru found them, right outside the staging village," Gaara replied, helping her hoist Juugo back to his feet as he groaned in pain.  "They fought hard. Orochimaru left Juugo for dead and took off." 

“And your men?”  Sakura asked worriedly, scanning the group for the familiar logograph of the Suna headband.  She didn’t see any, and her brow furrowed. 

“They’re following a few miles behind us to head off anyone who was headed our way,” Gaara assured her, laying a hand on her shoulder as he helped the redhead maneuver Juugo into a sitting position.  Sakura nodded tightly, her hands glowing with chakra as she assessed the damage to Juugo’s body. 

“Thank you, Gaara.”

“Anything for my friends,” he murmured, his serious eyes surveying the test subjects. “They’re in bad shape, Sakura.”

“Take them to Tsunade-sama at the hospital.  She’ll get them patched up.” 

She couldn’t smother her gasp of horror as her chakra permeated into Juugo’s chest.  His ribs had been almost entirely shattered; he was literally held together by his intercostal muscles and a very fast, very ramshackle patch job.  Absently, she wondered who had saved his life by healing him. 

_Juugo should have been killed, how the hell did he survive?_

“Juugo, your body, it’s a miracle you’re still alive-“ She breathed, her eyes widening as she saw what she was dealing with. 

"Orochimaru should have killed me,"  Juugo wheezed with difficulty, his huge hand flying to his side to cradle his ribs.  "I'm going to rip him apart, just give me a chance." 

"You're in no shape to fight any more!"  The red-headed woman said firmly, darting in front of them and shaking her finger at Juugo.  "You nearly died!  It was stupid trying to take on Orochimaru by yourself-" 

"We're alive, aren't we?"  Juugo muttered, sounding so much like Sasuke for a moment that Sakura felt her mouth ticking up in a small smile.  

"She's right, Juugo." 

The girl threw Sakura a calculating look, but her steely expression softened as she noticed the twinkle in Sakura's eye.  "Yeah, see?  If Haruno thinks that you're half dead, I'm obviously right."   She tossed her bright hair over her shoulder and Sakura suddenly felt a flicker of recognition.  

"You're Karin, right..?"  She asked hesitantly, wracking her brain for the right name.  She was rewarded with a small grin.  

"Yeah, Karin Uzumaki.  You healed me when I almost died trying to fight that guy who used the earth release technique." 

"I remember.  Uzumaki, huh?  I think I know your cousin,"  Sakura said drily, reaching out the shake Karin's offered hand.  "Thank you for helping Juugo." 

"Peh, I didn't do it for him.  I've been trying to find a way to get out of that mountain for two years," Karin replied stiffly, crossing her arms and indicating Gaara with a jerk of her head. "Thanks for caring enough to get us out though.  The Kazekage said that you were the one who told him to meet us." 

"I did.  You're the one who healed Juugo enough to get him here?"  

"I know enough to be useful."  Karin pushed her glasses farther up her nose with her forefinger, surveying Juugo with a practiced eye.  "I was able to get him into traveling shape, but I can't do much more than that until I get my chakra levels up." 

"Get to the hospital, the Hokage's expecting you," Sakura said firmly, pointing towards the medical buildings.  "She'll protect you." 

Karin let out a small, bitter laugh.  "I don't know if anything could protect us from Orochimaru.  You've got your work cut out for you." 

Sakura felt a trickle of ice wind its way into her veins.  She knew that Karin was right. "What do you know?" 

"Nothing that'll be helpful.  The fact is that he's probably here already, and if you don't know where he is, you're all going to die before you get a chance to defend yourselves,"  she said bluntly, ducking back under Juugo's arm as Gaara led the way to the hospital. 

Sakura watched Karin and the others go with narrowed eyes, trying to parse apart her feelings about what Karin had said. 

“If you weren’t right, I might be offended,” Sakura murmured, too quiet for anyone else to hear.  She heard the hum of chakra once more as the gates were sealed, and she breathed a silent sigh of relief. 

She was absorbed in her thoughts, so much so that she nearly jumped out of her skin as a warm hand touched hers.  She spun around, intent on berating whoever it was, but her words died on her lips as she recognized Itachi.  He didn’t look guilty at all; in fact, she thought that he looked a little bit smug. 

“You’re jumpy,” he commented softly, lacing his fingers with hers and indicating a dark alleyway with a jerk of his head.  She shook her head, allowing him to tow her into the half-darkness. 

“I can’t believe that you aren’t!  I’m so on edge that I feel like I’m going to either explode or throw up!”  She said feverishly, sighing as his arms wrapped around her.  Sakura breathed in his comforting scent as he embraced her, setting his chin on top of her head.  “Maybe both at the same time.”

“Please don’t.  I don’t have time to do laundry,” he murmured drily, his hands drawing soothing patterns on her skin as she relaxed. 

“How are you so calm?”  She asked, listening to the steady sound of his heartbeat as he held her. 

“This isn’t my first war,” he reminded her gently, finally drawing back to look her in the eye.  “You’re worried about people dying.”

His statement wasn’t a question. 

She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.  He was silent for a moment, his eyes far away.  Finally, he sighed and tapped her gently on the forehead.  “You’re used to being the person who saves lives.  It’ll be an adjustment to take them instead, but I don’t have any doubts that you’ll devastate Orochimaru’s ranks.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”  She laughed softly, shaking her head at his frank appraisal of her fighting abilities.  “Death isn’t good, no matter how it comes about.”

“Spoken like Tsunade’s apprentice,” he replied quietly, the look in his eye softening as he regarded her.  “Promise me that you’ll be careful.”

“Only if you promise me that you won’t do anything stupid like try to sacrifice yourself,” she retorted, tucking a strand of his long, dark hair behind his ear.  The corner of his mouth ticked up, and she grinned when his dimple winked into view. 

“Fine, I promise that I won’t act like Naruto,” he murmured, cupping her face between his palms and gently raising her chin.  She was about to inform him that Naruto was good, and honorable, and he should respect him for that when her mind went completely blank. 

The look in Itachi’s eye held her transfixed as he bent to kiss her, his lips brushing against hers firmly and deliberately.  She melted into his arms, kissing him back with equal enthusiasm as he took a step towards her, pinning her gently against the wall of the building behind her.  Sakura knew, distantly, in a part of her brain that wasn’t overtaken by her need for Itachi, that what they were doing was very stupid, and it definitely wasn’t the time for them to fool around. 

But the rest of her brain very helpfully informed the rational part that they might die, so some hanky-panky was perfectly acceptable before a battle.  That observation shut her brain up quite nicely, and she was suddenly free to focus on the way that Itachi made her feel. 

They were so caught up in each other that neither of them noticed the black wave of crows flapping frantically towards the village.  Without any warning, the air exploded with a silent puff of smoke as they were simultaneously destroyed.   The shinobi on the walls exchanged confused glances, and looked around for their commanders as another flare was released. 

The hum of activated chakra diffused through the air, sending gentle waves of electricity through the ground as the village’s defenses were activated once more. 

Sakura wove her hands into Itachi’s soft hair and pulled him as close as she could, forgetting to muffle the soft moan that escaped her lips as his mouth marked down her throat.  He chuckled quietly against her skin, the sound of his voice rumbling through her body. 

She started to laugh with him, but the sound became a sharp gasp as he nipped gently at her skin.  She was debating whether or not to tell him to stop when he kissed her again.  That sent any rational thoughts that she was entertaining straight out the window. 

_We’re in an alley, making out like we’re damn teenagers again!_

Finally, when she broke the kiss to breathe, she managed to dredge up enough rational thought to lay her palm on his chest and push gently.  “Itachi, we can’t do this here-“

“Hm, and what exactly do you think is happening here, Haruno?” 

She forced herself to ignore the way that his sultry tone sent a bolt of heat straight into her belly, and she huffed.  “We’re not even somewhere private!  Anyone could walk past, and you’re the head of the Uchiha clan now-"

“Now you have a problem with semi-private sex?  You could have fooled me,” he whispered, laughing at her sudden blush as he leaned close enough to brush his lips along the shell of her ear.  “I do a lot of things that my clan doesn’t approve of; this wouldn’t even make the cut.”

He sounded so amused that she nearly smiled.  His warm breath puffed across the skin of her neck and she resisted the urge to press every inch of her body to his. 

_Focus, Sakura!_

She shivered, trying and failing to sound annoyed as she half-shoved him away again.  “It’s not that, I just don’t think that it’s a good time right now-“

“Are you sure?” He rumbled, his eyes shining in the half-darkness as he surveyed her.  She knew that she was disheveled, and red-faced, and definitely struggling to string a sentence together.  She knew for a fact that he liked it when she was all hot and bothered. 

“It’s not that I don’t want to!  I-I just think that we should be doing this elsewhere, and it also feels like we’re saying goodbye, and I can’t deal with the thought of losing you-“

“Sakura,” Itachi said firmly, cradling her face between his palms.  “I promise you, no matter what, I _will_ come back to you.”

Sakura felt the tell-tale prickling of tears behind her eyes, and she bit her lip in an attempt to keep them contained.  She was holding onto her control by her fingernails, and the open, caring expression on his face was almost enough to make her come undone.  “Itachi-“

“Let me finish, please.  I’m not good at expressing how I feel, and I’m sorry about that.  But what I do know without a doubt-” he took a deep breath, as if he were steeling himself for what he was about to say,”-is that I'm prepared to die to save you.”

“I know,” she murmured, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face into his shirt as he held her just as tightly.  “I love you too.  Don’t you dare die.”

His soft laugh was muffled by her hair, and he gently ran his fingers through it as she drew back.  “I’m not easy to kill.  If it does happen, I know that you can bring me back.”

His tone was light, teasing even, but she didn’t miss the intense undercurrent of uncertainty that coloured his words.  She hopped up on her tip-toes and kissed him, trying to express everything that she was feeling.  Apparently, he agreed with her. 

He pulled her closer, each brush of his lips languid and purposeful.  She forced herself to break away, comforted by the fact that she finally had definitive proof that Itachi loved her too.  Her heartbeat hammered in an irregular staccato against her ribs, and she had to fight to get her brain back to a place where she could think rationally. 

“Don’t even joke about dying,” she muttered, disentangling herself from his arms and hurriedly adjusting her shirt and bra.  He smirked as she fixed the zipper on her flak jacket, completely unapologetic for making her look so dishevelled.   “Aren’t you supposed to be informing your family members that you’re in charge now?”

A slow grin spread across his mouth, and she felt her eyebrows shoot upwards.  _He’s being so open today.  Where has that been over the last six months?_

“I’ve already told them.  Once they get over the shock, they’ll follow my command,” he said rather smugly, his eyes glittering with amusement.  Sakura couldn’t help but wonder what he’d said to gain their allegiance so quickly. 

She was about to ask him when a sudden explosion rocked the village.  She let out a small gasp of surprise as the ground buckled, and she was surprised to find herself pressed into the side of a building once again, Itachi’s body was shielding her from any oncoming threat. 

“What the hell is happening?!”  She yelled as the ground continued to move, and huge cracks appeared in the concrete of the sidewalks.  Itachi yelled back a reply, but it was lost in the chaos as people began to flood into the streets, crying and screaming as they ran from the destruction. 

Sakura barely had time to think as Itachi scooped her up into his arms and dashed upwards, only stopping when they were on the rooftop of a nearby building.  Suddenly it was silent, the ground had stopped moving and there was no more falling debris as the buildings swayed back into their moorings.   She tumbled out of his arms, staring in complete shock at the now-eerily still village.  

“What the hell-” Sakura began, glancing around at the damage with no small measure of confusion.  “We don’t get earthquakes here-“

“It’s Orochimaru,” Itachi said firmly, his sharingan spinning so fast that his eyes were a blur of scarlet.  “Look up.”

Sakura did as she was told, her stomach dropping and her blood running cold as she took in the sight of the giant barrier that suddenly surrounded Konoha.  It was tinged blue, and vaguely resembled a bastardized version of the Susanoo. 

She couldn’t help her gasp of surprise, and she glanced at Itachi.  “That’s bad, isn’t it?”

He nodded, his eyes taking in the barrier.  “It’s a sealing jutsu.  Its purpose is to stop anyone from getting in or out.”

“Why the hell would he want that?!”  Sakura demanded, whirling on her heel as she heard something that confirmed her worst fears.   A concussion blast echoed off of Hokage Mountain, bringing with it the faint sounds of screaming.  Dark chakra shot through the air, bringing with it a fierce wind that whipped at their hair and clothes.  Sakura had to shield her face with her arm, and that's when she remembered something important.  

_“Orochimaru has two kinds of curse marks.  One that requires the chakra of the user, and another that is completely controlled by him.  He can use those ones without the consent of the marked shinobi.  That’s how he was able to kill our hostages from miles away.”_

Tsunade’s voice echoed on her ears, and she gasped.  The realization of what Orochimaru had planned hit her like a ton of bricks and it was all that she could do to remain standing.  The shock made her knees feel weak, and her rational brain screamed at her to do _something_ as the barrier above them shimmered and hummed with power. 

Ear-splitting screams continued to rent the air as explosions rocked the hospital, and Sakura felt her lungs compressing, driving all of the oxygen out of her body as her fear took over.  Itachi darted over and put his arm around her as her knees gave out.

“No!” 

She gasped for air as her panic overrode all of her ability to think, clutching Itachi’s arm like it was her lifeline. 

“Breathe, Sakura.  What do you know?” 

“Itachi, he’s activated their curse marks!  Orochimaru’s trying to kill as many of us as he can without lifting a finger!  That’s why he didn’t kill Juugo!  The test subjects are transforming, they’ll kill everyone that they get their hands on!” 

“Where’s Naruto?”  Itachi demanded, his sharingan spinning even faster than she thought was possible as he pulled her to her feet.  “We have to move, now!  Orochimaru’s trying use them to release the Nine-Tails.  Then all he'd have to do is deactivate the barrier and use my father's mangekyou to control the beast.”

“No, you find Naruto!”  She said firmly, an icy calm washing through her as she settled into battle mode.  Now that the initial shock was past, she was feeling murderous.  “I’m going to stop the test subjects.  Get Naruto as far away from them as you can, don’t let him do anything stupid.”

He nodded, brushing his thumb across the back of her hand as he turned to leave.  “Be careful.”

“Promise that you'll come back to me,” she said simply, drawing herself up to her full height and turning her attention to the task at hand. 

"Of course I will," he murmured; the look in his eye made her heart ache.  

Without waiting for any further reply, she flung herself off of the roof, landing on the street and darting towards the wall, where she’d left her hand-picked team.  She couldnt' afford to lose her nerve.  

 _Time to end this fight.  It’s about time that I get a chance to kill the bastard,_ she thought angrily, bursting upwards as she shot towards the watchtower where her team had been stationed.   

“Team Washi, let’s go!”  She roared, landing hard and quickly moving through the hand signs of the one jutsu she’d never dared to use.   “It’s time to hunt a snake.  Don’t hold back, use everything you’ve got!” 

_Release!_

The air around her shimmered with power as a halo of chakra exploded out of her forehead.  She heard herself yelling, roaring out a battle cry as raw power flooded into her body, marked by a glowing purple ribbon of pure chakra. It wove down her arms and legs, awarding her the chakra of a hundred shinobi.    Finally, after seven years, she was going to fight with everything that she had. 

Neji, Hinata, and Hanabi landed beside her, their byakugans pulsing with their accelerated heartbeats as they stared towards the hospital.  Chouji charged through the streets below them, his limbs extending and growing as he released his strength.  

“Let’s go!” 


	39. The Battle Begins Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The moments leading up to the battle. Shikamaru, Temari, Shino, Naruto, Sasuke, and Tsunade are forced to act as Orochimaru descends upon Konoha.

* * *

  **Three hours before the Earthquake:**

* * *

 

Naruto was startled awake by the sound of his front door slamming.  He was up and out of bed in a flash, a kunai held aloft as he landed lightly on the balls of his feet.  He sighed in relief as he caught a flicker of Sasuke’s chakra signature moving away from his home.  He tossed the weapon back on his bed with a clatter, stretching his back until it cracked loudly. 

“He couldn’t even wake me up? I thought we were gonna get breakfast like we used to,” Naruto grumbled, scratching his head and yawning hugely. 

He padded in socked feet to his fridge and quickly gulped down a half-liter of orange juice.  After finishing his drink, he let out a thunderous belch and then made his way back to his room to get dressed.  Shrugging into his clothes took him no time at all, and he was slamming the front door and clattering down the stairwell in his apartment complex within a minute. 

He ran into the street, spinning around in a circle as he tried to guess which way Sasuke had taken.  He frowned, his thoughts clicking along at a good pace.  _Why’d he take off so suddenly?_  

Ducking into the convenience store at the corner of the block, he quickly bought some milk and a muffin, humming contentedly as he considered his next move.  Sakura and Itachi were most likely with the Hokage, which left Naruto to his own devices for the time being. _I guess I’ll head over to the hospital in a bit.  Sakura will probably be there._

 He began to eat his breakfast with enthusiasm, hopping up on a small concrete wall.  As he chewed, he mulled over the events of the night before.  

After Sakura had taken off from the rooftop of the Hokage tower, Naruto and Neji had stayed for a few moments to discuss their next move.Normally, Naruto would have been more than happy to go charging into the fray with Sakura, but there were a few things he wanted to try on the down low.  In this case, the fewer people who knew what his plan was, the better.  

_“Naruto, you know what Itachi’s likely to do next more than I do,” Neji had said quietly, a frown line settling firmly in place between his brows.  “Should we be concerned?”_

_“Nah, I don’t know him that well.  But if Sakura’s worried, then he’s gonna do something stupid,” Naruto had replied slowly, trying and failing to ignore the pit of dread that had taken up residence in his stomach.  He had swallowed hard, forcing himself to remain in the present; if anyone could stop Itachi, it was Sakura._

_“Then what do you suggest we do?”  Neji had asked quickly, the corner of his mouth had turned down slightly as he’d taken note of Naruto’s thinly-veiled struggle to remain calm._

_“Sakura will be able to take care of Itachi.  If Sasuke’s with her, they’ll be fine.  I need your help with something,” he’d blurted, coming up with an idea on the spot.  “I need your byakugan. But, it has to be a secret.”_

_Neji hadn’t said anything in response; he’d just motioned for Naruto to lead the way.  Naruto hadn’t wasted any time and had immediately boosted himself off the roof, shooting chakra into his legs and propelling his body into the air.  Neji had followed right behind, his light eyes surveying the village from above as they moved._

_“Sasuke’s caused quite a crowd to gather at the gates,” Neji had observed drily, a rare flicker of mirth colouring his tone._

_“Yeah, well, he was dead,” Naruto had replied distractedly, laughing softly as Neji’s expression rapidly turned exasperated. “And now he’s not.”_

_“I’m fully aware, Naruto. Thank you for attempting to enlighten me.”_

_Naruto was thinking hard, too busy trying to come up with a way to concisely get across what he was trying to accomplish to pay Neji’s snarky comment any mind.  His mind ticked through all of Jiraya’s lessons, and he’d silently thanked his mentor for instilling in him the need to always plan something that the enemy would never suspect._

_He wasn’t great at following that advice, but when he really needed to pull something out of a hat to save the day, he was a natural.  With that being said (although his trusty Sexy Clone Jutsu usually did the trick), he knew that it wouldn’t work on Orochimaru._

_He needed something far more complex to fool the Sannin._

_“Hey, Neji, you were there when that weird blade took me down,” he’d said carefully, peering at his friend out of the corner of his eye._

_“That’s not something I’d easily forget,” Neji had replied quietly; his usually serene expression had been marred by a small frown.  “Where are you going with this?”_

_“Sakura said that they were going to try to bring the test subjects here under Gaara’s protection, right?  Well, what if there’s a spy in that group for Orochimaru?”_

_He’d hurriedly answered, darting along the bridge that led over the river.  The village was on lockdown until Fugaku was found, but there was one park where they could go where they wouldn’t be disturbed._

_“Ah.  You think that Orochimaru knew that Sakura and Itachi would attempt to free his captives.”_

_Neji had sounded grudgingly impressed; Naruto wasn’t exactly known for his strategic abilities.  His prowess came from strength and the enthusiasm of a young man who considered himself close to invincible, not the ability to outmanoeuver his foe._

_“That’s what I would do,” Naruto had replied, shrugging as they slowed to a stop.  “If she’s right and they’re after Kurama, we need to outthink them.”_

_“What do you propose?”_

_“If they’re going after my chakra, do you think it’s possible for me to create shadow clones that could fool someone who can see chakra streams? If something happens and Orochimaru's spy thinks that I'm out in the open, he won't waste any time or energy looking for me, right?"_

_Neji let out a small laugh, shaking his head.  “You’re choosing an interesting time to reveal your knack for creativity, Uzumaki.”_

_“Can I do it?”  Naruto pressed, his expression leaving no room for humour.  He was deadly serious.  They were in a life or death situation; if the Nine-Tails was released, no one would make it out of the battle unscathed._

_“Potentially. Show me what you’ve got,” Neji had answered, narrowing his eyes and activating his kekkei genkai.  Naruto had waited until the veins of the byakugan had pulsed powerfully in Neji’s forehead before quickly signing through the steps of his shadow clone jutsu._

_Three copies of himself suddenly stood beside him, and they all crossed their arms and raised their eyebrows at the Hyuuga shinobi._

_“Okay, go!”   Naruto had hollered enthusiastically, waving his arms for Neji to start._

_“Naruto, I just watched you make the clones, I know that you’re on the left,” Neji had grumbled, rolling his eyes in exasperation._

_The clones had then regarded each other with shocked looks for a split-second, and then had simultaneously run in different directions, swerving around each other and running amok for a few moments until they came to a stop, all breathing hard from exertion._

_“Okay, that should do it-“_

_“-can you tell-“_

_“-which one of us-“_

_“-is the real one?”_

_Neji had thought for a moment before he’d indicated that the “Naruto” standing to the left of centre wasn’t a product of ninjutsu.  The clones had all huffed in frustration as they disappeared, leaving behind a very annoyed and determined Naruto._

_“What gave it away?!”_

_“The Nine-Tails.  The chakra that’s centered on your seal is different.  The clones don’t have the kind of energy that you do.  You stand out like a beacon.”_

_Naruto had taken advantage of the silence to think for a moment, tapping his chin in thought.  Neji’s eyebrows had shot straight upwards again as he took in the pensive expression on Naruto’s face, and he’d crossed his arms.  “I don’t like that look.”_

_“Let’s say that I manage to distribute Kurama’s chakra around to the clones, would you be able to tell then?”_

_Neji had then looked slightly taken aback, and he’d tilted his head to the side in thought.  “I…don’t know.  In theory, no, but I’ve been proven wrong before.”_

_His tone hadn’t indicated any kind of confidence._

_Naruto then grinned wolfishly, slapping his hands together as he plopped to the ground in a cross-legged position.  “Hang on a minute; let me talk to the good old toothy demon himself.”_

_He’d concentrated hard, throwing himself into his chakra streams with enthusiasm.  He was so engrossed in his meditation that he hadn’t heard Neji’s somewhat amused reply._

_“You call the all-powerful Nine-Tailed Fox a “good old toothy demon”..?”_

_Naruto’s consciousness dove into the seal, finally drifting to a stop inside the cavernous chamber that housed the creature in question.  Naruto had tapped down, straightening up and flicking his hair out of his eyes._

_“Hey, you awake?”  He’d called, listening to the powerful, even breathing of the giant fox.  Kurama’s slitted golden eyes had abruptly loomed out of the darkness, and he’d oozed closer, radiating ancient power._

_“Naruto, it’s been a while,” the fox half-hidden inside the shadows had rumbled, his spectral form bubbling outside of the unlocked cage.  Naruto had tilted his head to the side, appraising the creature._

_“Not that long, right?  We talked last week-“_

_“That was a while ago,” Kurama had insisted, sounding slightly sulky.  “There’s been a lot going on.”_

_“Yeah,” Naruto had grudgingly agreed, scratching the back of his head.  “I was wonderin’ if you could try something with your chakra.”_

_“It’s our chakra,” Kurama had then reminded him, his tone growing exasperated.  “You promised me years ago that we’re workin’ in a sorta symbiotic relationship.  What’s mine is yours.”_

_“Yeah, but what I need is gonna take a lot of effort,” Naruto had wheedled, grinning at the giant creature who still loomed above him.  “But the good thing is that it might stop Orochimaru.”_

_“Go on,” Kurama had growled, his golden eyes narrowing as he laid his huge head down on the floor to watch Naruto._

_Naruto had then planted his hands on his hips and taken a deep breath.  “Okay, so we managed to fix the damage to our chakra after that blade cut me, but what if it happens again?  I don’t want to get put back in that position.  I can’t keep you contained.”_

_Kurama hadn’t said a word, but Naruto had felt his stomach drop as the fox’s eyes had narrowed to slits and his lip had curled, revealing his huge fangs.  He’d thought hard, trying to find a way to get his point across; it was never a good thing when the kyuubi got annoyed.  He needed them to work together; it could be a matter of Konoha’s wellbeing._

_“What I’m sayin’,” he’d continued hastily, “Is that I should try and make sure that I’m not stuck somewhere where I can get hurt.  I need to make sure that my clones will look believable to someone who can sense and track your chakra signature.”_

_Kurama had chuckled, his warm breath had puffed towards Naruto and blown through his clothes as the tension in the room had shattered.  “Not a bad idea, kid.  What did you have in mind?”_

_“I need to figure out how to divvy up your chakra within my clones,” Naruto had mused, tapping his finger on his bicep in thought as he crossed his arms and began to rock back and forth on his heels._

_“It’s easy.  It’s the same concept as creating them, you just have to isolate small bursts of my chakra as well,” Kurama’s tone was slightly reproachful, and then he had closed his eyes briefly.  Naruto’s jaw had dropped as the Kyuubi had then isolated several large bubbles of glowing orange chakra and sent them floating towards Naruto._

_He had resisted the urge to squirm out of the way and clenched his eyes shut as they popped noisily when they made contact with his arms.  He had almost jumped backwards as the bubbles seeped into his skin, warming up his body to an uncomfortable temperature._

_He’d grinned as an unexpected rush of power flooded through his veins, and he’d spread his fingers out, marvelling at the glowing orange nimbus in his palms.  “Whoa, it was that easy?”_

_“Kid, you’re never gonna be Hokage if you don’t learn how to fight with what you’ve got,” Kurama had replied smugly, opening his eyes at last and surveying Naruto with no small measure of reproach._

_“Stop comin’ down here and askin’ me for help all the time.  You’re damn well old enough to figure it out.”_

_“I don’t do it that often!”  Naruto had begun to protest, waving his still-glowing hands around his head as he attempted to make a case for himself.  “What, do you want to have tea and cake?”_

_“I want to bite the shit out of Orochimaru,” Kurama had then snapped, baring his teeth in a feral snarl.  “I want to tear him limb from limb and bite the heads off of the snakes that make his body.  I want to shred him to bits and scatter the pieces to the wind.  No one attacks us and gets away with it.”_

_“Heh,” Naruto had chuckled in response, drawing himself up to his full height and staring confidently at the giant fox that still loomed above him.  “Just you wait.  I’m gonna destroy him, believe it!”_

_“Stop talking about it and do somethin’.  Damn, you spend all that time flappin’ your jaw-“_

_“Yeah, yeah,” Naruto had muttered, turning on his heel and concentrating once more to rise out of his meditative state.  “Thanks.”_

_“Don’t mention it.  Destroy the old snake bastard, would ya?”_

_Naruto’s eyes had snapped open, and he’d risen to his feet with newfound confidence, taking Neji’s surprised expression in stride.  He hadn’t even noticed that his eyes were still slitted like Kurama’s, but they quickly changed back to their natural vibrant blue as he concentrated._

_The kyuubi’s chakra had swirled within him, its energy beating in time with his heart._

_“I’ve got it.  Let’s try again.”_

_Neji had nodded for Naruto to continue, clearly taken aback by his abrupt return from his conversation with the kyuubi.  If he’d had any questions, he kept them to himself, and for that Naruto was grateful.  He would explain what Kurama had done if it worked._

_“Shadow Clone Jutsu!”_

_As the smoke cleared, Naruto’s clones had grinned in unison as Neji took a moment to analyze the clones.  The silence stretched out between them, and Naruto had begun to sweat a little bit.  Whether it was from nervous energy or anxiety, he wasn’t sure, but it made him stride towards Neji, flapping his hands at the silent Hyuuga._

_“Hey!  What’s the matter?”_

_Neji had immediately let out an exasperated sigh, throwing Naruto a look that would have made Sakura proud.  “I couldn’t tell which one was real until you opened your mouth.  You revealed yourself.”_

_Naruto’s mouth had flapped open for a second, and then he’d grinned, as if Neji hadn’t just berated him for being an idiot.  “So it worked?”_

_“Yes, but-“_

_“Yeehaw!  I knew that I could make it work!”  Naruto had then hollered, punching his fists into the air with enthusiasm._

_“Wait, you can’t just-“_

_“Let’s go again!  Shadow Clone Jutsu!”_

_Neji had groaned audibly, pinching the bridge of his nose and muttering something that sounded an awful lot like “all zeal and no brains”._

_Naruto hadn’t taken the time to care; he’d been far too busy making more clones._

Now that Naruto had tested out his theory, he was feeling a little more secure in his safety.  After Sakura had left to meet Sasuke at the gates and Naruto and Neji had finished training, he’d taken off towards the ANBU buildings to make sure that Sakura really had managed to derail whatever Itachi had been planning.  He’d run into the brothers as they’d emerged from the ANBU central holding facility; they had materialized from the darkness covered head to toe in soot and both wearing expressions that he couldn’t describe. 

It wasn’t good though. 

Sasuke had demanded that Naruto come with them to the elite-nin hospital, his sharingan had spun so quickly that it was little more than a blur.  Without asking any of his burning questions, Naruto had helped Itachi and Sasuke take the ANBU shinobi who were still experiencing side effects from the mangekyou to the medical building attached to the main ANBU administration centre. 

He couldn’t exactly say that he was surprised that Itachi had put down this many opponents, he _was_ Itachi Uchiha after all; Naruto _was_ surprised that he’d held back as much as he had. 

_Oh man, I think Sasuke was pretty close to punching Itachi._

Naruto didn’t let himself think about what would have happened if Itachi really had lost control.  The icy silence that had bloomed between the brothers had caused some very uncomfortable tension. 

Naruto had never seen Sasuke that angry, and he was very relieved that he wasn’t on the Uchiha’s bad side.  Itachi’s characteristic silence hadn’t bothered Naruto one bit, but he couldn’t ignore the fact that Sasuke’s brother who had (very recently) gained his trust had marched into the village with the intent to sacrifice as many lives as it took to save Sakura. 

Frankly, Naruto would have done the same damn thing, but he wouldn’t have even considered murder. 

However, he knew Itachi well enough to know that he wouldn’t have killed anyone without good reason to do so.  As far as Naruto was concerned, saving the lives of those he loved came first, even though he would have gone about it a different way.  He also knew that the stakes were too high; if Sakura had died, they might have lost all of their will to fight when Orochimaru arrived. 

_Man, things used to be so easy.  No one told me that growing up means that you have to make a lot of hard decisions._

It was a very illogical, ill-thought out plan on Itachi’s part, but Naruto respected the hell out of him for recklessly risking his own safety and his future to save the woman that he loved. 

_That’s the kind of shit that you read about in books, but I didn’t think that he would ever do something that stupid_ , Naruto thought, striding along the street towards Sakura’s apartment.  _That’s pretty damn heroic_. 

He would never admit it out loud, but he was starting to respect Itachi more with each passing day.  If Naruto had been asked to go undercover and join the Akatsuki, he knew that he would never have been able to do it.  It took a very strong and selfless person to put himself in danger like that. 

He knew that Sasuke would agree with him eventually.  His thoughts returned to the night before as he took another bite of his breakfast.  

_“Naruto, get the hell off me!”  Sasuke had snarled, trying to jerk himself out of Naruto’s iron grip.  Naruto had ignored his protests, increasing the strength of his hold on his friend as Sasuke had attempted to throw himself at Itachi in anger._

_“Calm the hell down!”  Naruto had grunted in response, half-throwing Sasuke to the side.  The younger Uchiha had regained his footing immediately and had then glared at Naruto with his spinning scarlet eyes._

_“He used the fucking Amaterasu!  You have no idea what that technique would have done if I hadn’t shown up-“_

_“He’s right, Naruto,” Itachi had interrupted quietly, putting up a hand to stop Sasuke’s tirade.  Sasuke had fallen silent, his chest heaving with rage and indignation at being interrupted._

_“It was reckless and stupid.  Those flames shouldn’t be used.  It was my mistake-“_

_“Mistake?!  You can’t even admit to what you did,” Sasuke had breathed, his eyes narrowing with fury as his jaw clenched.  He’d drawn himself up to his full height and closed his eyes, searching for calm.  “You didn’t even think about what happened when we were kids, and you just thought you’d ignite the whole place with hellfire?!”_

_“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Naruto had shaken his head frantically; he’d crossed his arms and glared at the both of them.  “It’s like you’re talkin’ in code.  What happened when you were kids?”_

_“Shisui,” Itachi had replied shortly, his dark eyes never leaving Sasuke, “He was messing around after he’d woken his mangekyou and managed to accidentally set a building on fire.  The house owner died from her wounds, and Sasuke and I were forbidden from using it unless there was no other choice.”_

_“There was another choice, your crows were more than capable of handling them,” Sasuke had hissed, his anger bubbling back to the surface.  Naruto had stepped between them, very tired of the argument._

_“Oh.  Okay, well you managed to put it out, so let’s save the fighting for after Orochimaru’s dead,” Naruto had muttered, trying to wrap his head around the complex relationship that the brothers shared._

_“We’re not finished,” Sasuke had responded darkly, his eyes still swirling with anger.  “Every time I think that I can start to trust you, you pull some shit-“_

_“Did you honestly expect me to sit back and allow Sakura to get hurt?”  Itachi had demanded, his frustration making his voice uncharacteristically rough.  “I refuse to allow anyone that I love to get hurt, not after everything that we’ve been through.”_

_“Well, no-“_

_“You don’t understand me yet, Sasuke,” Itachi had then said sadly, his eyes darkening as he’d surveyed his little brother.  “I can’t undo my past mistakes, but I don’t regret them.  All that I can do is give you my word that I won’t act so recklessly in the future.”_

_Sasuke had opened his mouth as if to retort, but was stopped short by a small laugh from Naruto._

_“Leave being reckless to the professional,” Naruto had snickered, flashing a grin and a thumbs up at the brothers. There was a tense moment of silence, and he’d stubbornly held his ridiculous half-squat and thumbs up, hoping beyond all hope that he could diffuse the situation.  “If anyone’s gonna be stupid, it’s gonna be me!”_

_He’d then huffed a silent sigh of relief as Sasuke’s sharingan had ebbed away and his expression had softened incrementally.  Sasuke had then let out a dark chuckle, surveying Naruto and Itachi through a curtain of his raven hair.  “Hm, you never change.”_

_He strode towards the exit of the building, leaving Itachi and Naruto to catch up with him.  Naruto had made to follow Sasuke, but was stopped by Itachi’s sudden arm in front of him._

_“You didn’t have to do that,” Itachi had murmured, watching Naruto with an unreadable look in his eye._

_Naruto had then shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable.  “Yeah, I did.  You did something stupid to save someone that ya care about, I can’t be mad at you for that.  I probably would have done the same thing.”_

_“I doubt that,” Itachi had replied wryly, a small smirk appearing on his lips as the inflexible look in his eye had softened._

_“Nah, I would have charged in there with guns blazing and then tried to figure out what to do once I got there.   The last time that Sakura was in danger I kind of lost my mind, so, I get it,” he’d finished lamely, running a hand through his hair._

_Itachi didn’t say anything to that, but Naruto hadn’t missed the silent question in his eye.  He had groaned, slowly starting to follow after Sasuke.  “It was during Orochimaru’s first attack.  She almost got squished by a huge hunk of rock when she tried to save Lee from getting crushed.”_

_“What did you do?”  Itachi had asked softly, following Naruto out of the hospital wing and out into the waiting area beyond._

_Naruto had shrugged.  “I just saw red.  I got her and Lee out of the way and killed the guy who’d sent the rock their way.  I don’t even remember it; all I know is that Kurama kinda took over.”_

_Itachi’s eyes had widened slightly, and he let out a small “ah” of understanding.  “That was your first kill, wasn’t it.”_

_Naruto had stubbornly stared at his sandals as he’d walked along, unsure of how much to divulge.  “Yeah, but also no.  I’m pretty sure that some people have died because of Kurama’s power flowing through me, but that was the first time that I saw the life leave someone because of my fist.  The worst part is that I was happy about it.”_

_“Did you feel triumph or glee?”  Itachi had asked carefully, his tone deepening as he tactfully avoided the question that Naruto knew that he wanted to ask._

_(Did you feel guilty about it, or did you relish the light leaving your enemy’s eyes?)_

_“Triumph.  He was dead, and Sakura wasn’t in danger anymore.  I may not be the smartest, or the fastest, or the cleverest shinobi on the squad, but what I don’t have in skill I make up for in heart,” Naruto had then said firmly, turning his head to look Itachi in the eye.  “I’ll do whatever has to be done to protect my family.”_

_“Hm.  You’re full of surprises, Naruto,” Itachi had replied solemnly, a glimmer of something that Naruto could only describe as respect flickering across his irises.  They walked in comfortable silence for a moment until Itachi had let out a small sigh._

_“Thanks.  Whether or not you think it was necessary, you’ve been a better brother to Sasuke than I ever have.  I’m indebted to you for that.”_

_Naruto’s cheeks had pinked at the praise, and he’d found himself nodding, finally coming to terms with the fact that he and Itachi were well on their way to becoming friends.  To his great surprise, he didn’t hate the possibility._

_“You’re gonna need to make sure to make things right with Sasuke, cause I don’t wanna deal with him sulking and bein’ all moody cause of you!”  He’d added hastily, picking up the pace and darting out into the night._

_“Duly noted,” Itachi had murmured, nodding in farewell as he then took off down a side street.  Naruto had assumed that he was going to meet the Hokage, as per Sakura’s instructions.  Unbothered, he’d run after Sasuke, determined to catch up._

He was started out of his reverie by the appearance of a familiar, shaggy-haired teammate.  Shikamaru was wearing his characteristic bored expression, walking leisurely along the street with a cigarette clamped firmly between his lips. 

“Yo!  Shikamaru!”  He called, waving a hand in the air as his friend crossed the street. 

Shikamaru glanced up, and when he realized who was calling him, his expression brightened slightly and he made his way over to where Naruto was still perched on a low brick wall. 

“What the hell are you up this early for?”  Naruto commented, yawning hugely.  “Weren’t you searching the village last night?”

“Couldn’t sleep.  Sakura almost sat on me,” was the drawled response.  Shikamaru rubbed his bloodshot eyes with one hand and glanced at Naruto.

“Why the hell are you up?”

“Sasuke slammed the front door when he left,” Naruto replied, crossing his arms and pouting.  “He just took off this morning.”

Shikamaru dropped the end of his cigarette and ground it into the dirt with his foot.  “Sasuke’s heading for Ino’s.  You going anywhere right now?”

“Not really,” Naruto admitted, finishing the last of his milk and throwing it in a nearby garbage can.  “I was going to go to the hospital with Sasuke, but he’s just doin’ his own thing, I guess.”

There must have been something in his tone that made Shikamaru laugh.  “He’s still Sasuke, just because he’s back doesn’t mean we’re all going to go swimming in the river and pick flowers for the hell of it.”

“What’s wrong with swimmin’ in the river?”  Naruto demanded half-heartedly, still pouting and clasping his hands together behind his head. 

“I didn’t say that there was anything wrong with it,” Shikamaru continued to chuckle, indicating with a jerk of his head that Naruto should follow him.  “I’m going to the hospital; you should come with me instead.”

“Why?”

Shikamaru frowned; his expression was clearly less than impressed.  “Cause Tsunade’s gonna be there and she’ll want to make sure that we’ve all got the plan down.  Plus, they may have woken the guys up by now.”

“Did you find Fugaku?”

It was Shikamaru’s turn to look sheepish, and he jammed his hands in his pockets as they walked.  “No. The slippery bastard’s gone.  That’s all the more reason for you to get your head in the game,” he added pointedly, throwing Naruto a meaningful look. 

“I’ve been working on something that’ll keep me out of the way of Orochimaru’s stupid plan to release the Nine-Tails,”  Naruto muttered, absentmindedly toying with the zipper on his jacket as they took a left down a side street and continued towards the hospital. 

“This whole thing is too damn troublesome,” Shikamaru grumbled, tightening his ponytail and looking expectantly at Naruto.  “So, you gonna tell me what it is, or are you gonna make me guess?”

“Nah, it’s better if you don’t know,” Naruto said evasively, relishing the flicker of annoyance that passed over Shikamaru’s expression.  “Neji and I think it would be better if no one knows what I’ve got planned.  What I do need to know, is if there’s somewhere I can go where I can’t be found.”

“What the hell kinda question is that?”  Shikamaru muttered, his eyes narrowing as he thought.  “I dunno, maybe Orochimaru’s lab?  That’s the only place I can think of that would be far enough out of the way to keep you from getting discovered.  No one’s going to think to look for you there.” 

“The creepy torture dungeon?”  Naruto’s nose crinkled in disgust, and he waved a hand in dismissal.  “Nah, I don’t wanna be anywhere near where he’s trying to get to.”

“What about the Uchiha shrine?”  Shikamaru asked slowly, his quick mind obviously whirring over any possible solutions to their problems. 

“What shrine?”  Naruto asked curiously, his eyebrows shooting upwards.  “I don’t know anything about that.”

“Sakura mentioned something about a hidden shrine last night.  Sounds like it’s a big clan secret, but I don’t know how smart it is for the Uchiha to keep too many of those right now,” Shikamaru replied, his dark eyes thoughtful. 

“What’s the big deal with the shrine then?”

“Hell if I know.  The sentry at the gates to the complex mentioned that it’s got some pretty complex protection jutsus.  It would take an army to get in there, and if Orochimaru has taken over Fugaku, then he’s probably not going to go waltzing in somewhere where there are literally a hundred sharingans to oppose him.”

“That’s smart,” Naruto breathed, darting excitedly in front of Shikamaru and balling his hand into a fist.  “I can hide there!”

“Y’know, for someone who didn’t want to tell me his great, clever plan, you’re giving me an awful lot of hints,” Shikamaru said wryly, a small smirk playing around the corners of his mouth. 

“It’ll be easy-peasy,” Naruto said affably, grinning toothily at his friend. “Just leave it to me.” 

“Every time you or your teammates say that, things get stupidly complicated,” Shikamaru grumbled, lighting up another cigarette as they got closer to the hospital. 

“You really need to quit smoking, Sakura’s gonna slap that right out of your mouth if she sees it,” Naruto said reproachfully, eyeing the burning ember on the end of the cigarette with distaste. 

“Nah, I don’t smoke that much anymore.  It’s only when I’m stressed,” Shikamaru replied defensively, taking two quick puffs before grinding the butt underneath his heel.  “Let’s hope that the guys are awake, they might be able to tell us what happened with Fugaku.”

Naruto chose to ignore the fact that he’d determinedly changed the subject.  His gaze flicked over the walkie-talkie that Shikamaru wore.  He thought it was odd, but didn’t blame him for being prepared.  He made a mental note to grab one when he got the chance. 

“I hope you’re right,” he muttered, following Shikamaru through the large double doors that led to the intensive care unit entrance.  They were waved through by the ANBU security team and Naruto’s eyes narrowed as he took in how many extra security personnel were stationed at the reception desk, the elevators, and the room where Gai, Lee, and Kiba were hidden. 

“Looks like Tsunade’s got this place locked up tight,” he observed carefully, keeping his voice low and his tone neutral as they strode past yet another pair of armed guards. 

“No shit,” Shikamaru replied, just as quietly.  Naruto was about to ask him what was going on when a familiar face peered around a doorway. 

“Shizune?” 

“Naruto!  Shikamaru!  Get in here!”  She hissed, grabbing both of them by the scruffs of their necks and hauling them into a small supply room.  “I’ve been expecting you and Sasuke to show up for ages.”

“Ow!  What’s goin’ on?!”  Naruto demanded, rubbing his neck and glaring at Shizune with confusion.  “What’s with the second-rate treatment?”

“Need I remind you that we’re working on borrowed time here?”  She answered peevishly, taking a deep breath and turning her attention to Shikamaru.  “Tsunade-sama hasn’t brought any news.  Did you guys find-“

“No,” Shikamaru said shortly.  His expression was stony.  “I wouldn’t hold out on too much hope.  Was Umi able to wake them up?”

Shizune’s gaze dropped to her shoes, and she shuffled her feet uncomfortably for a moment before answering.  “No, she doesn’t have a mangekyou.” 

Shikamaru swore quietly, prompting Naruto to attempt to salvage the situation. “It’s fine, we’ll get Sasuke in here and he’ll get them up and moving in no time.”

Shizune’s expression turned hard, and she glared at him with an uncharacteristic show of derision.  “You don’t get it.  If they’re still stuck in the Tsukuyomi, there might not be anything left of them to wake up.”

Naruto’s eyes widened and he had to resist the urge to punch the wall behind him.  “Well then what are we waiting for?!”

Shikamaru’s jaw clenched and he pivoted on his heel and strode straight to the back of the storage closet.  “Finally, you’re catching on.”

Shizune followed him, and Naruto bit back a wave of curiosity.  Somehow, it didn’t feel like the time to ask them where they were going in a dead-end closet.  His jaw dropped, however, when Shikamaru quickly wove his hands through a few signs and broke through the genjutsu that concealed a hidden doorway. 

Gai, Lee, and Kiba lay silently in their beds, completely unmoving. 

“How much time do they have?”  Shikamaru demanded, a streak of worry breaking through his attempts to keep his tone neutral.  Naruto had rarely ever seen him this anxious, and it made him wonder if he should be panicking. 

“I don’t know,”  Shizune admitted, her tone colored with concern. "They've already been under for nearly a full day.  I'm worried." 

Just as Naruto was about to open his mouth to assure Shizune and Shikamaru that Sasuke had promised to come by the hospital, he heard the tell-tale tacking of shinobi standard-issue sandals and…the sound of heels?

He turned to see Ino and Sasuke stride into the room, the concealment jutsu flooding back into place behind them. 

“I’m here,” Sasuke said firmly, drawing himself up to his full height as he surveyed their little group.  Naruto wasn’t sure what to make of the set of his jaw and the cold cast of his eyes, but he wisely kept his mouth shut.  Luckily, Shizune wasn’t shy about getting down to business; just like Sakura and Tsunade, she didn’t mince her words. 

“About time!  Ino, I didn’t expect to see you here..?” 

“I thought that you could use a break,” she replied, shrugging and tossing her long ponytail over her shoulder.  “You’ve got to be running on fumes.”

“I, uh, yeah.  I am,” Shizune muttered, turning a bright shade of pink as she avoided Ino’s disapproving stare.  “I’m going to go take a quick nap.  Sasuke, I expect that they’ll be awake by the time I get back.”

“Count on it,” Sasuke murmured, his dark eyes following her as she strode out of the room.  As the genjutsu sealed behind her, Shikamaru crossed his arms and tilted his head quizzically to the side.

“So, you gonna tell us the real reason why you’re here, Ino?”

“There’s some intelligence that Kiba has that I need,” she replied with a huff, mirroring her teammate’s stance.  “I can’t get it if he’s unconscious; the stupid sharingan gets in the way.  It'll pull me under, too.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Sasuke muttered, moving closer to Gai and inspecting his eyes.  Naruto couldn’t help the queasy shudder that slid through his knees as Gai’s bloodshot, practically lifeless eyes were inspected.  He hated anything that had to do with medical ninjutsu; it gave him the heebie-jeebies.

“Ino, I need a light,” Sasuke asked quietly, barely paying them any mind as he concentrated.  Ino, although she looked slightly taken aback, fed her bright blue chakra into her hand and waved it in front of Gai’s dark eyes.  Sasuke made a small sound of approval as Gai's pupils contracted in response to the light and he twitched in his sleep. 

“Is that good?”  Naruto demanded, peering over Sasuke’s shoulder. 

“Yeah.  He’s still functioning properly, which means that Fugaku didn’t put him down with the intent to drive him crazy.”  Sasuke’s firm reply was characteristically neutral, but Naruto didn’t miss the undercurrent of emotion that lay underneath his words. 

_Oh shit.  Something happened._

“What aren’t you telling us?”  Naruto asked softly, his expressive gaze softening as he surveyed the tight set of Sasuke’s shoulders and the determined look in his eye.  He knew Sasuke better than anyone; something was very wrong 

“Naruto, well-“ Ino began, cutting off abruptly as Sasuke raised a hand to interrupt her, his face hidden by his dark hair.

“Fugaku is dead,” he said lowly, his tone deepening as he fought to remain emotionless.  “Orochimaru got to him before we could.”

If he’d said anything after that, Naruto wouldn’t have heard him.  A wave of anger crashed through his system, overriding his ability to think clearly.  He fought to keep his emotion at bay, determined to keep it together for Sasuke’s sake. 

“How?”  He finally managed to force out through gritted teeth, his fists shaking with effort as he forced his anger away.  What was left was an icy calm, and he gratefully sank into it, relishing his recovered ability to think. 

“Apparently there’s a secret Uchiha burial ground,” Ino replied, darting a concerned glance at Sasuke, who still stood as still as a statue.  She spoke softly, as if she were afraid that any sudden sound or movement would startle Sasuke into a rage. 

“He must have gone there after he took out his guards.  We found a bunch of his blood, and Orochimaru’s chakra signature,” she continued, looking sadly at the three shinobi who lay still in their beds, their heart monitors the only sign of life. 

“So the sooner we wake them up, the better,” Sasuke said abruptly, clearly shutting out any emotion as he activated his sharingan.  He turned back to Gai, the scarlet of his irises a stark contrast to his pale skin.  Naruto breathed in a surprised gasp as Gai’s other eye flew open and he sucked in a grateful breath. 

_Damn._

* * *

 

**Two Hours Before the Earthquake**

* * *

 

“Ah, the power of youth asserts itself once again,” Gai said weakly, propping himself up on one elbow and surveying Sasuke with gratitude.  “Young Sasuke, you’re a credit to your clan.”

Sasuke wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, so he settled for a firm nod.  Without wasting any more time, he turned and peeled open Rock Lee’s eyelid.  His sharingan spun slowly, the mangekyou activating and blooming across his scarlet irises. 

The warmth of the kekkei genkai spread through his eye, weaving along the optical nerve and streaming into his chakra pathways.  His eyes narrowed for a moment as he dove into the Tsukuyomi, grabbing onto the flickering chakra that marked Lee’s consciousness and pulling him upwards.  It felt like he was trying to swim though something viscous while wearing heavy weights, but he simply doubled his efforts. 

_Come on!_

Finally, just when a flicker of worry had pierced through his concentration, Lee’s eyes snapped open and he let out a deep, shuddering breath as his system adjusted to the return of his consciousness.  Lee’s hand flew up to his chest as Sasuke stepped away, still breathing hard from the shock of his awakening. 

“Sasuke, thank you!”  He blurted, his hands reaching up to cradle his head.  “I thought I was going to lose my mind.”

“You nearly did,” Sasuke replied shortly, relieved that he’d been successful.  He knew that he’d arrived just in time; both Gai and Lee’s conscious minds had been on the verge of slipping under the threshold of insanity.

 It was going to take time for them to fully recover, but they were out of the danger zone.  He relished the feeling of triumph and relief that flooded through his chest; for once he was helping, not endangering anyone.  It felt good to be on the right side.  It felt damn good to not question if his decisions were the right ones. 

He inflexibly kept his grief hidden away; he couldn’t deal with it now, not when there were people who were counting on him.  If he was being completely honest with himself, he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to feel. 

The man who had raised him, who had turned him into a weapon, who had used him to further his own goals, and hadn’t even been upset when he’d sacrificed his life, was dead. 

But that man was also his father.  And that man had once given him his first shuriken, and patched up his subsequent cuts, and walked through the streets of Konoha with a tiny Sasuke on his shoulders.  Fugaku was still the man who had told Sasuke that he could be anything that he wanted when he grew up, and the man who had picked tomatoes out of the garden for them to enjoy out from under his mother’s watchful eye. 

Sasuke mourned the man that he’d loved, and celebrated the death of the man that he’d feared.  It was almost incomprehensible to think that those two men had resided in the same body.  He was almost disappointed that he hadn’t been the one to kill Fugaku himself, but at this point he would settle for killing the puppet that Orochimaru was using to destroy the only family that he had left. 

_Killing Orochimaru is just as good_ , he thought darkly, his eyes narrowing with malice.  As quickly as it had come, his rage was gone, replaced by an icy fury that he could control.  He and Itachi, they would kill Orochimaru, of that he was sure. 

Naruto remained unusually silent, watching Sasuke work with an unreadable expression on his usually expressive face.  Sasuke wasn’t quite sure how to take the seriousness of his gaze. 

“What?”  He grunted, shooting a disgruntled look at his friend as he inspected Kiba. 

“You got stronger,” Naruto replied simply, his serious gaze meeting Sasuke’s.  Bright blue eyes met scarlet, and Sasuke felt his sharingan spinning even faster as he clued into the implication of Naruto’s observation. 

“I lost a lot,” he answered finally, looking away as the confusing riot of emotions within him made it too difficult to talk about his past.  “So did you.”

“You can’t be weak as Hokage,” Naruto chuckled, handing a waiting glass of water to Lee, who gratefully gulped it down. 

Sasuke almost laughed.  No matter how much time passed, Naruto always would be Naruto.  He was so engrossed in inspecting Kiba’s condition that he barely noticed that Naruto had unzipped his jacket and was currently showing off the large, jagged scar that stretched from his left hip to the right side of his ribs.  

“-and I got this cool-ass scar!  I’m a babe magnet now-“

“Scars for bravery, and for effort!  The fighting spirit is strong in your generation, Konoha is in good hands!”  Gai called from his corner bed, brandishing his plastic cup of water in an exhausted salute. 

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he concentrated over Kiba’s still form.  Apparently, some people never changed.   He repeated the process, noting with some surprise that the eternal mangekyou didn’t strain his eyes at all. 

“Oh yeah, if Kakashi-sensei thought I looked tough before, I got this new scar now.  It’s almost as good as his-“

Sasuke's attention was jerked away from listening to Naruto talk as pain exploded along the right hand side of his face.  Sasuke took a hurried step backwards, his hand flying up to cradle his jaw.  Kiba, who had awoken just as suddenly as the others did, apparently had a little bit too much fight still left in him.  His fist had flown up and socked Sasuke in the face before he could react. 

“What the fuck- _”_ Sasuke gasped, glaring at Kiba, who was breathing desperately like a fish out of water as he regained consciousness. 

“I gotta put him down-I-uh what?  What are you guys doing here?”  Kiba stopped fighting against his invisible foe and peered curiously at Sasuke, who was still trying to decide whether he should hit Kiba back.  Given that he’d just been dragged out of a shadow dimension, Sasuke made the difficult decision to let Kiba have this one.  He shifted his jaw around, wincing as his facial muscles began to ache. 

He was going to need some ice.

“You’re welcome,” Sasuke muttered, crossing his arms.  Kiba looked at him in shock for a moment before his expression split into a huge, shit-eating grin. 

“You look terrible,” he drawled, wiping a hand over his own pale, sickly face.  Sasuke let a small smirk dance around the corners of his mouth as he watched Kiba struggle into a sitting position. 

“Clearly, I’m in better shape than you.”

“I dunno,” Kiba stretched lazily, yawning so hard that his jaw cracked.  “I’m not the one covered in blood.”

At that, Sasuke grimaced and wiped away a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth.  “I can fix that.”

His expression was neutral, but Kiba clearly heard the snarky undertone beneath his words.  He threw his legs off the bed, pointing at Sasuke with a shaking hand.  “Oh just you wait, I’ve always wanted to fight a dead guy.”

Naruto stepped forwards and cuffed Kiba, drawing a startled yelp from the still-injured shinobi.  “We don’t have time for that, you idiot.” 

His playful tone eased the sting of his words (and his slap), and Kiba’s cheerful demeanor immediately slid away.  He glanced at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye, his expression turning guilty.  “Sasuke, I-“

“I know.  There was nothing that you could have done,” Sasuke said firmly, considering his words carefully.  He didn’t blame Gai, Lee, and Kiba for letting Fugaku get away.  Despite his outburst in the Hokage’s office, he didn’t really think that anyone other than Orochimaru was to blame.  Those three were no match for a determined mangekyou user.  They were just damn lucky that Fugaku hadn’t wanted to kill them; otherwise they wouldn’t have been able to wake up at all. 

Sasuke knew what sharingan-induced madness looked like, and he silently thanked his lucky stars that he’d got here in time to wake them up.  With time, or with healing, they would be back to their old selves.   

He had just opened his mouth to explain when a mournful howl echoed from outside the building. In response to his confusion, Naruto jerked this thumb towards the window.

 “Looks like Akamaru knows that you’re awake, Kiba.”

“Aw yeah, get him in here!”

“No way, this is a _hospital_ ,” Ino snapped, brushing past Sasuke to stand in front of Kiba.  “Sorry, but I have to finish my assignment.  I need to know what you and Akamaru found in the remains of the archives.  You’re not allowed to leave until you tell me, Hokage’s orders.” 

“What were you looking for?”  Lee asked quietly, rewinding his arm bandages as they talked.  Gai was uncharacteristically silent, and Sasuke glanced over to see that he was listening with interest, his head bowed and his eyes shut as he concentrated. 

“There was some old scroll that the Hokage wanted found,” Kiba shrugged.  “It’s some amendment of the village’s original decrees.  Something about declaring a state of emergency.”

“Will you let me into your head to see what you saw?”  Ino asked quietly, her expression somber as she sat down next to him. 

“Yeah,” Kiba muttered, running a hand through his hair.  “If you need to, then I guess it’s okay.”

“Thank you, honestly, you’re a pain in the ass, but you’re serious when it counts.  I owe you one,” she chirped, settling herself more comfortably and signing through a version of her family’s interrogation technique that Sasuke hadn’t seen before. 

He didn’t miss the way that Kiba’s cheeks pinked with a small blush as she praised him.  The corner of his mouth ticked upwards, but he quickly smothered his smile. 

_Looks like a lot of things have changed.  They used to hate each other._

Ino’s body fell backwards with a thump, and Sasuke resisted the urge to wince as Kiba’s body jerked as her jutsu took effect.  Her consciousness entered his system and clearly was only working with his mind; his mouth fell open and after a few minutes, a thin line of spit began to slide down his cheek, pooling where his head lay on the pillow. 

_Ino’s going to die of embarrassment_ , Sasuke thought smugly, his mouth inching closer to twisting into a small smile.  He felt his dark mood lifting, and he breathed a silent sigh as the pain in his chest eased.  It didn’t feel like iron bands were compressing his lungs anymore; he felt like he could breathe again. 

“Gross,” Shikamaru muttered, peeling himself out of the shadows where he’d secreted himself.  To his surprise and dismay, Sasuke had nearly forgotten that he was there.  His small smile was contagious, and one by one, they all started grinning at each other like idiots. 

“Welcome home, Sasuke,” Lee said gently; raising his cup in a salute, “It’s good that you’re back.”

 Gai echoed his sentiment, and Naruto and Shikamaru both flashed lazy grins in response.  Sasuke couldn’t help the warm bubble of emotion that bloomed in his chest, and his pale cheeks flushed slightly.  He glanced down at his sandals when the attention got to be too much, and he was immensely grateful when no one said anything else; they didn’t need to.  

They watched in silence for a few moments, and as it became apparent that Ino was going to be a while, Sasuke turned to leave.  He wanted the chance to talk to Sakura, Kakashi, Itachi, and Naruto before Orochimaru showed up; he was tired of standing in a room with people who were likely to start asking questions about his resurrection as soon as Ino was finished with her intel gathering. 

He strode towards the genjutsu that protected the room, his sharingan whirling across his inky irises, when the genjutsu suddenly shattered and the Hokage strode towards them, her expression stormy. 

_Hm._

His stomach dropped into his knees as the Sannin strode into the room, her expression leaving no room for speculation as to what her mood was; she wasn’t impressed.  Shizune trailed after her, looking more than a little bit sheepish.  Sasuke surmised that she’d probably been left in charge, and the fact that he’d marched in there right after he’d blatantly disrespected Tsunade hadn’t made him terribly popular in her books. 

Normally, he wouldn’t give a shit, but Tsunade commanded respect the same way that Kakashi did; he didn’t want to mess up his chance to redeem himself after so many years of acting like the perfect Uchiha subordinate.  This was the woman who taught Sakura to punch through solid rock, after all. She could crush him like a bug before he could dredge up the good sense to use his sharingan to defend himself.  

Tsunade glanced at Sasuke, who was still standing there like a child who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and her already stony expression darkened. 

_Shit._

“You two, come with me,” she demanded, pointing at both Sasuke and Naruto.  They shared a split-second of confusion before she swept out of the room, a harried Shizune brushing past her to check on the patients. 

Sasuke followed Tsunade, keeping his gaze on the back of Naruto’s blond, shaggy head.  He debated whether or not he should be contrite about his outburst in Tsunade’s office an hour previously, but very quickly came to the conclusion that his father had just been confirmed dead, and there were several very obvious holes in their plan to keep him contained, so he was well within his rights to be angry and full to the brim with grief. 

If he continued to tell himself that, he thought that eventually he might just believe it.

Tsunade led them past the ANBU guards and down to the basement of the hospital where she kept her private lab.  Sasuke looked around curiously as they entered the dingy room, the sound of machines humming filling the air with sound. 

Tsunade marched over to a large chalkboard in the corner of the room that was entirely covered with hastily-scrawled formulas and half-finished sealing jutsus.  She hurriedly swept the chalk off of a large area of the board and began to feverishly draw a complex set of symbols. 

She finished with a flourish, turning on her heel to look them in the eye.  “So, let’s get down to business then.”

* * *

 

**One Hour before the Earthquake**

* * *

 

Tsunade set down the chalk, brushing dust off of her hands with an efficient flick of her wrist.  “Naruto, you and I have been training for weeks, but there’s something that we should still discuss.”

Naruto, who had slumped down on a stool, stood bolt upright, his intense eyes flashing.  “Whaddya mean?”

“I mean,” she continued, searching for patience, “That we need to be prepared in case something happens to either you or I.”

Naruto scoffed, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.  “Like you said, we’ve been training for weeks.  What’s going to be able to take us down?”

“Don’t ask that question,” Sasuke muttered, his gaze looking anywhere but at Tsunade as she turned her steely gaze onto him.  “That’s asking for trouble.”

“I agree with Sasuke,” Tsunade replied firmly, leaning forwards and bracing her arms on the metal table in front of the blackboard.  “Orochimaru is the one who came up with this sealing jutsu, so we need to be prepared for the worst.  He may figure out what we’re up to, and so we have to out think him.”

“Okay,” Naruto said slowly, thinking hard, “What are ya thinking?”

Tsunade sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose in thought.  She remained silent for a moment before answering, taking a gamble.  She was a betting woman, but there was too much at stake for her to get careless; she had to know _now_ if she had planned for every possible outcome. 

“I need to know if Sasuke is willing to fight for me,” Tsunade said quietly, squaring her shoulders and looking the Uchiha in the eye. 

There was a tense moment of silence as she stared directly at Sasuke’s emotionless face.  She could have sworn that she saw a flicker of uncertainty pass over his irises, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.  Sasuke’s expression remained neutral, but his jaw clenched.  She knew him well enough to know that his mind was whirling.  Before he could come to the worst possible conclusion, she took a deep breath and continued. 

“Wait, before you say anything, I have something to say.  I know that this village has failed you.  _I_ failed you when I couldn’t save your life.”

_There it is again._  

A small flicker of pain had crossed over his expression, and she continued, determined to finish. 

“We didn’t do enough to save you from your father’s lust for power, and for that, I’m sorry.  I know it may be completely out of line to ask you to put your newly regained life on the line, but I need your help.”

His expression softened slightly, and his eyes lost their hard edge.  She let her words sink in for a moment, hoping against all hope that he would prove to be the shinobi that she believed him to be. 

“Sasuke, I’m not going to ask you to fight for me, the Hokage.  I’ve failed you in that regard.  So I’ll ask you to fight for your village, your friends, and your family.  If we’re going to pull off this jutsu, I need to know that we have your support.”

He didn’t say anything in response. 

“Help me mend the rift between the Uchiha and the Senju,” she whispered, lacing her fingers together.  “It’s past time that our families made peace.”

“What do you need me to do?”  Sasuke asked softly, his icy façade dissolving completely as he sat up straight.  Tsunade felt a flash of pride; Kakashi had been right.  Naruto and Sasuke were cut from the same cloth; they were willing to do whatever it took to protect the people that they cared about. 

She sighed.  _Here we go._

“The jutsu is designed to cut the object off from their essential chakra, it acts quickly and ruthlessly to seal away the victim’s ability to use their vital energy.  Orochimaru designed it years ago to quickly neutralize anyone who was stupid enough to attack Konoha.”

She didn’t need to be reminded of the irony of her statement. 

“So what’s Naruto’s role?”  Sasuke asked bluntly, ignoring Naruto’s irritated glance. 

“He’s going to be activating the jutsu.  Orochimaru likes to fight from a distance until he’s sure of his victory, which is why we’ve built the jutsu into an area that’s roughly two hundred square feet large.  Naruto has to be able to activate all six connection points in less than a minute, while fighting.”

Sasuke’s eyebrows shot upwards in surprise, and he glanced at Naruto.  “You’re not that fast.”

Naruto bristled, and Tsunade almost chuckled as he flew to his feet, his face reddening.  “I am now!  What did you think I’ve been doin’ for the last few months?!”

“He’s fast enough, Sasuke,” Tsunade said firmly, eyeing the two young men who still stood poised as if to brawl.  “What I realized, is that he can’t fight off Orochimaru’s allies when he’s trying to finish his part.  A sharingan would be incredibly useful.”

“What’s your part?”  Sasuke asked bluntly, his dark gaze flicking up to meet hers.  She resisted the urge to look away, finally ready to admit the danger that she was putting herself in. 

“The jutsu itself requires a sacrifice,” she admitted, ignoring Naruto’s enraged gasp.  “The original design assumes that the person who is actually controlling the jutsu has to give up all of their vital chakra in order to seal the prey away.  In my case, I’ll already have released my seal.  I’ll have more than enough chakra.  But, on the off chance that I’m too injured, or I’ve used up too much of my reserved strength, I need you, Sasuke, to finish it.”

“You’re not dyin’ again!”  Naruto said hotly, his face beet red with anger.  “I’ll do it!  I’ve got lots of extra chakra!”

“If you do it, the jutsu may latch onto the chakra of the Nine-Tails and seal you away instead.  It would release the beast,” she said with difficulty, fighting against the wave of emotion that threatened to spill over at any second.  She determinedly clamped her teeth around her lower lip, stubbornly refusing to lose her composure. 

“I don’t care!  You’re not gonna ask Sasuke to give up-“

“That’s not what she’s asking, Naruto, shut up,” Sasuke snapped; his dark eyes never left Tsunade as she began to pace, pivoting on her heel. 

Tsunade couldn’t bring herself to look at Naruto, who was still loudly protesting.  She wasn’t giving up, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to go down without a fight, but she needed to know that Sasuke and Naruto could do what needed to be done. 

“Well, Sasuke?”  She asked quietly, turning to face the chalk board.  Her heart hammered in her chest, and she forced down a surge of anxiety.  She couldn’t afford to lose her cool, not now. 

“I’ll do it,” he murmured, his enigmatic expression softening.  “If you need me to finish it, I’ll use your chakra.”

Tsunade nearly sagged with relief, her tense muscles loosening as she sucked in a grateful breath.  She hadn’t realized that she’d been holding her breath.  “Thank you, Sasuke.  It’s an added bonus that you two learned how to fight by competing against each other, you know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”

She didn’t miss Sasuke’s small huff of amusement, and she darted a glance at him.  To her surprise, he was smirking, his expression openly taunting Naruto.  She had never seen him smile like that before, and her chest warmed with pride. 

“Well then, let’s get down to business.  Sasuke, I have a gift for you.”

His eyebrow rose slightly, and she grinned at him.  Tsunade reached into her pocket and pulled out a brand new Konohagakure headband.  Sasuke’s eyes widened and he gingerly reached out and took it from her, running his callused fingers over the shining metal rivets of the engraved plate. 

“I haven’t worn one in-“

“Years,” she supplied, leaning back on her heels and surveying him with pride.  “I think you’ve earned a new one, don’t you?”

He didn’t reply, simply tied it on.  When he raised his head to look her in the eye, Tsunade resisted the urge to grin, simply watched him accept that he wasn’t fighting against the institution of Konoha anymore. 

_What I wouldn’t give to know what’s going on in that head of his_ , she thought smugly, inclining her head slightly as he nodded at her, content that a nod was about as close to a hug as she was going to get. 

Naruto grinned toothily, tapping his own headband.  “Now Team Seven’s _really_ back together.”

“Yeah,” Sasuke muttered quietly, looking away to try and hide the pleased flush on his cheeks.  Tsunade didn’t have to see his face to know that he was nursing an expression that was a mixture of pride and embarrassment.   Her mien softened, and she resisted the urge to scold the both of them for getting distracted; she really wasn’t cut out to stay mad at these kids for long. 

“Okay, so, first thing’s first.  I’m going to tattoo the jutsu onto your skin,” she began, snapping her fingers and igniting a chakra needle.  “In case the scroll that I’m using gets destroyed, we need a backup plan that both of you can use.  Each of you will get half of the key.  You have to work together to finish activating the jutsu,” she added, her steely tone leaving no room for negotiation. 

Naruto’s jaw dropped, and Sasuke stiffened.  Tsunade thought for a moment they might start jabbering protests at her, but to her surprise, they simply looked at each other for a moment and then shrugged. 

“Fine with me,” Naruto drawled, whipping his shirt and jacket off and pointing to his new scar with unwarranted confidence.  “I dig the tough look.”

“It’s going to take a lot more than that to convince me,” Sasuke muttered, forcing Tsunade to quickly smother a chuckle. 

“It’s temporary,” she said firmly, signing quickly through a jutsu of her own design.  “This ink is actually just the metals that naturally occur in your blood going through a chemical reaction.  It’ll fade after the jutsu is complete.  This may hurt a little.”

She didn’t hesitate before she applied the needle to Naruto’s back, wincing at the screech of pain that he immediately let out.  “Ow!  Fuck!”

_Whoops.  Sorry, kid._

“You’re supposed to be tough,” Sasuke supplied helpfully, ignoring the unimpressed look that Tsunade threw his way.  If he’d looked at her full on, she had no doubt that he would wilt a little; she was famous for her death glares. 

“Oh, by the way, Sasuke, your behaviour earlier was disrespectful and unacceptable,” Tsunade said sweetly, still mercilessly tattooing Naruto and ignoring his grumbles of pain.  “If you ever do that again, I will come after you and throw you off the damn roof.  Am I understood?”

“Yes,” Sasuke muttered, avoiding her stern gaze once again. 

“Good.  I’ve decided that, as your punishment, you have to pay for my new office furniture,” she replied firmly, fighting back a small grin as his face scrunched up into an expression of pure confusion.

“What..?” 

He sounded absolutely baffled. 

She was saved from having to reply by the loud sound of heels on concrete.  Tsunade didn’t look up from her task; she knew that it was Ino.

Ino darted through the doorway into the lab, her eyebrows shooting straight upwards as she took in the sight of a grumpy Sasuke, a sweating, shaking Naruto, and a calm Tsunade who was serenely tracing a tattoo onto Naruto’s bare back.  To her credit, she didn’t comment on the strange circumstances of her arrival. 

“Ino, did you get it?”  Tsunade asked, glancing over her shoulder.  Ino grinned savagely, brandishing a scroll covered in her neat, looping handwriting. 

“I did.  The Senshou Accord, just like you asked for.  Kiba and Akamaru were able to sniff it out of the ashes from the archives.”

“Excellent,” Tsunade muttered, finishing Naruto’s final sigil with a flourish.  She held out a hand for the document, which Ino quickly deposited in her hand.  Tsunade’s eyes widened as she read over the terms of the accord, and her eyes glittered with triumph. 

“Good job.  I’m going to finish Sasuke’s half of the sealing jutsu, and then I’ll go straight to the council meeting.”

“What’s going on?”  Naruto demanded, massaging his shoulder where she’d mercilessly inked the seal.  “Why is the council meeting again, and without you?”

“Apparently it’s about Fugaku and his escape.  They seem think that they’ll figure out an answer.  It’s too late for that.  I’m taking matters into my own hands.”

“You gonna elaborate?”  Sasuke asked quietly, clearly unimpressed by the lack of information. 

Her overly cheery tone hadn't quite disguised the bitter undertone to her words.  Tsunade shrugged, brandishing the resealed document as she grinned. 

“Kiba was able to find an old amendment to the original Konohagakure law system.  My grandfather wrote it and sealed it with Senju blood.  As long as a Hokage has been rightfully elected, they hold the power in times of war to dissolve the council entirely.  Instead, there is a war council put in place, handpicked by the Hokage.”

“And your plan is to activate the amendment.” 

Even Sasuke sounded impressed. 

“Yeah, I think I’ll need to,” she admitted, rolling the scroll back up and nodding in thanks.  “Ino, you did well.”

“Thank you, Hokage-sama.”

Naruto let out an impressed whistle.  “About damn time you took control again.”

“Welcome to the war council, you three.  Sasuke, you’re going to be the Uchiha commander.  Naruto, you’re in charge of the jonin and chuunin squads stationed on the west half of the village.  Ino, you and Shikamaru will need to divert our fighters to where they’re most needed from the military center.”

“Got it,” Ino murmured, a satisfied smirk slid across her face as she surveyed them.  “And Sakura?”

“She and Itachi are Lieutenant-Generals.  Kakashi is the general in charge.  I’m going to take over the position of Chief Medical Officer for this battle,” Tsunade replied, flicking her hair over her shoulder and gesturing for Sasuke to sit down in front of her.  “After this is all over, I’m retiring.”

“I think I have to refuse,” Naruto said hesitantly, his hand straying unconsciously to the seal on his stomach.  “Neji and I think that Orochimaru might hide a spy in the test subjects.  They’re probably going to show up today.”

“Son of a bitch,” Tsunade breathed, ceasing her chakra stream and giving Sasuke a much needed break from the pain of the chakra needle.  He breathed in a sharp sigh of relief, glancing over at Naruto with an unreadable look in his eye. 

“Naruto, if they release the Nine-Tails-“  Sasuke said quietly in warning; his tightly clenched fists were the only outward sign of his anxiety. 

“Oh shit,” Ino muttered, running a hand over her ponytail and glancing guiltily at Tsunade.  “I forgot to mention, they’re already here-“

“What?!  Why did no one tell me?!” Tsunade demanded, turning her glare on Ino.  She wilted immediately, and Tsunade groaned. 

“I’m sorry!  They showed up maybe twenty minutes ago!  They’re taking up all of the attention of the nurses and medics, they’re in bad shape,” Ino said hurriedly, gesturing upstairs. 

“Tsunade, I can’t be here,” Naruto blurted, glancing over at Sasuke.  “We don’t know what their loyalties are yet.  Sasuke, can you get me into the Uchiha shrine?”

Sasuke’s head snapped up, and he regarded Naruto with an accusatory glare.  “How the hell do you know about that?”

“Itachi told Sakura, who told Shikamaru and Neji, who told me-“

“I got it,” Sasuke snapped, his tone darkening with anger.  “That wasn’t something Itachi should have mentioned.  It doesn’t matter now, I can get you in, but you can’t tell anyone what you see there.”

“You got it!”  Naruto said quickly, his hand flying up to his head in a small salute.  “I won’t even look at the secret stuff you’ve got in there.”

“Uh, yeah, okay.  I’m finding out a lot of things today,” Ino said with a huff, turning on her heel and pausing in the doorway to the lab.  “I’ll take a look at the test subjects.  Be careful, you idiots.”

Before they could respond, she’d already taken off.  Tsunade listened to her footsteps fading away before reigniting her chakra and hurriedly finishing the design on Sasuke’s back.  She had to work far harder to ink the design into his skin; she chalked it up to the fact that this body had been built from clay and chakra.  It was a miracle that his skin was accepting the metal’s reaction at all. 

_Sakura did one hell of a job.  I can’t let it get out that she was the one who brought Sasuke back.  It’s going to create a lot of very difficult questions.  I can’t have every bereaved family member in the village banging my door down and demanding that I resurrect their loved ones._

Her thoughts were forcefully brought back to the present as Sasuke smothered a small groan of pain. 

_I’m going to protect these kids with my life._

“Something’s about to happen. I can feel it,” she murmured, glancing down at Sasuke’s newly finished tattoo.

He glanced at her over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing. 

“We’ll be able to handle it,” he said firmly, letting his sharingan flood over his eyes.  For the first time in two decades, it was actually a reassuring sight. 

“I hope you’re right, kid,” she muttered.  Her brow furrowed as she sensed something strange coming from upstairs.  It had appeared suddenly, and without warning. 

This chakra felt like a cancer, spreading quietly and mercilessly to every corner of the building, and she knew that something was very, very wrong. 

_What the hell..?_

“Naruto,” she said slowly, turning to face him.  His face was alight with suspicion; both he and Sasuke had also felt the strange wave of chakra that had seeped through the hospital.  In that moment, she knew exactly what Orochimaru had planned. 

_Long-distance chakra activation.  Holy shit.  We’ve made it too easy._

The test subjects hadn’t escaped.  They’d been _released_. 

“Yeah?”

“Get the hell out of here.  Hide as far away as you can.  Sasuke, take him with you.  _Don't_ look back.”

Her tone left no room for negotiation. 

* * *

 

**Two Minutes Before the Earthquake**

* * *

 

Shikamaru glanced up in alarm.  The walkie-talkie that he’d put on this morning (out of pure impulse, not habit), had come alive out of nowhere.  His stomach dropped, and pure fear wove into his veins.

_“Shikamaru, pick up, damn you!”_

Temari was the only person he knew who had that particular frequency; no one else communicated over that channel.  He darted a glance at the others, turning to mask what he was doing. 

“Temari, say that again.”

_“Shikamaru!  You have to warn the Hokage-“_   She cut off with a crackle, and Shikamaru bit back a flash of panic.  Before he could slam his finger on the transmission button and demand a reply, her voice echoed over the device once more. 

_“There’s an army heading straight for you!  I’ve got twenty of my soldiers hiding, but we’re going to get sandwiched in the middle!”_

“Whose army?”  Shikamaru asked, knowing full well who was marching towards Konoha _._  “Are you injured?”

In the heat of the moment, his first thought was his concern for her.  He wasn’t even bothered by the fact that he was more worried about her than Konoha’s safety.   He could feel guilty about that later.  All that he knew was that he was terrified that Orochimaru had harmed her and the rest of Gaara’s reinforcements. 

_“Fugaku Uchiha!  Shinobi started popping out of the ground out of nowhere.  Gaara asked us to scan and keep an eye out-“_

She cut off with another crackle, and Shikamaru turned towards the others, his expression haunted.  “Guys-“

_“Shikamaru, there’s something wrong!  He’s activated some kind of jutsu!  Get out of there, now!”_

Gai laboriously climbed out of his bed and hobbled to the window.  His jaw dropped, and he pointed up at the sky.  “We need to get the Hokage-“

Shikamaru couldn’t see much from the angle where he was standing, but what he did see made his jaw clench with fear.  A shimmering wall of light was shooting upwards from about a mile outside of the wall, climbing so fast that it had formed a dome over the entire village before he’d made it to the window.   Frantic flares were shot from the village wall, but Shikamaru knew it was too late. 

Orochimaru had made the first move. 

He pressed against the transmission button on the walkie-talkie with shaking fingers, frantically reminding himself to keep his shit together. 

“Temari!  Get reinforcements if you can!  Get out of the way, we’ll find some way to break the force field-“

He cut off as a shockwave shook the hospital.  Shikamaru nearly lost his footing as the ground pitched and buckled, making the steel support beams in the walls shriek in protest.   He grabbed Lee and Gai, forcing them to stand in the doorway to the room as the genjutsu shattered and the floor continued to shake with enough force to rattle Shikamaru’s teeth. 

Kiba was smart enough to slide underneath his hospital bed; his eyes were wide with panic as he fought to stabilize his body as the ground continued to quiver. 

Just as quickly as it had started to move, the building swayed to a stop.  Shikamaru eyed the large cracks that had appeared in the ceiling with uncertainty as he eased out from his hiding spot underneath the bed that Lee had just vacated. 

“What the fuck was that-“  Kiba began, darting to his feet and bracing his hand against the wall as a wave of vertigo overtook him. 

That’s when they heard the screams. 

Ominous chakra washed over them, making every hair on the back of Shikamaru’s neck stand up.  He swallowed hard as the screams grew louder.  He knew what was happening. 

“When did the test subjects get here?”  He asked quietly, trying to force himself to move. 

“I have no idea, but it must have been before Orochimaru erected that barrier!”  Lee replied, his eyes wide with uncertainty. 

Shikamaru’s fear rooted him to the spot, and he cursed himself for feeling so weak.  Shikamaru’s nails dug into his palms as he finally managed to propel himself into motion, darting into the hallway and coming face to face with a monster. 

He'd never seen anything so eerie in his entire life. 

He whipped out a kunai, lowered his center of gravity, and prepared himself for the hardest fight of his life.  Blood dripped from the girl's one giant, scaly hand; the sound of it dropping to the ground echoed in the eerie silence left over from the earthquake.  There was too much blood; someone had already died.

The creature sobbed, turning to face him.  Tears ran down the girl’s distorted, monstrous face.  Half of her body had morphed into a large, scaly creature that radiated menacing power from the other end of the hallway.  Shikamaru knew that he would never be able to forget the pure agony of the girl’s cries, and he had to force himself to focus. 

“Help me!”  She pleaded, taking an unsteady step towards him.  The scaly carapace that covered the left side of her body continued to spread, and her quiet sobs quickly morphed into screams of pain. 

“How?!”  Shikamaru demanded, his panic almost overriding his ability to think as her face contorted in agony.  Slowly, but surely, the carapace advanced another inch, covering her body in rocklike scales.  She dropped to one knee, her nails scrabbling on the tile floor as she continued to transform. 

“I need to get to the Nine-Tails!”  She moaned, dragging her body closer to his.  His stomach dropped as he realized what she was saying, and he looked around helplessly. 

“Why?”

“He says-he-he-says that if I can free the Nine-Tails, th-that he’ll stop the pain,” she finally managed to blurt out through gritted teeth.  Anything that she was about to say was cut off by another sharp scream as the rest of her body began to glow with a sickly red light.

Shikamaru’s blood ran cold, and the unfamiliar tang of fear was all that he could taste.  “Who?”

“Orochimaru!  He wants the Nine-Tails-“  She stopped talking as her body writhed, and she dropped to the floor.  Torn between wanting to help her and knowing that he needed to kill her, Shikamaru watched in horror as her body began to twitch, standing up with jerky steps.  Her eyes had morphed from a vivid green to an inky black, and she let out a small, menacing laugh. 

“ **You’re weak.  Give me the Nine-Tails or I’ll kill you**.”

Her hand began to glow with purple chakra, and Shikamaru’s eyes narrowed; it was all wrong.  Her chakra was distorted and mutated; it was like she’d been replaced by a completely different person. 

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of screams from all around him.  The gut-wrenching sounds echoed from every floor.  Without waiting for his brain to catch up, he darted forwards, intent on stopping this threat before it could advance on Gai, Lee, and Kiba. 

He stumbled and nearly lost his footing as an explosion sounded below him, making the building shudder and the floor buckle from the force of the blast. 

The creature laughed again, and he couldn’t help his flash of fear as a blade materialized in its hand.  He had never seen the weapon that had nearly killed Naruto, but he knew in his bones that this cutting edge would do the exact same thing to him.

“Damn it, this is going to be hard,” he managed to blurt out, signing quickly and mercilessly.  Shadows shot out from below his feet, slithering up the creature’s body and pinning it in place as she struggled against it, shrieking with enough hatred and malice to make the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

He closed his eyes as his Shadow Neck Binding Technique took effect, fighting against the guilt and disgust that boiled within him as he tightened his hold on the transformed test subject. 

He had to exert enormous effort to keep her contained, and a tear slipped down his cheek as she died with a quiet gurgle; her chakra blade burnt out, and her body lost its armored appearance.  He sucked in a shaking breath as he gently lowered her body to the floor, blinking tears out of his eyes. 

He tenderly closed her eyelids and sighed. 

“I’m sorry.  I wish there was another way,” he murmured, looking back one last time before he darted back into the room where his friends still stood, shocked by the strange turn of events. 

Shikamaru winced as he heard another scream, rapidly replacing the genjutsu on the doorway to the hidden room.  “I gotta go; you guys sit tight until you get healed up!”

“Shikamaru-“  Kiba began, but Shikamaru didn’t even hear him. 

He was already sprinting for the next floor up, determined to do whatever it took to save those who were trapped in the hospital.

_Hang on!_

* * *

 

**Five Minutes After the Earthquake**

* * *

 

Temari squished herself to the ground, as far out of sight as possible.  She breathed shallowly, trying to use all of her skill to make herself invisible.  She glanced at her squad out of the corner of her eye; so far, they’d all be able to avoid detection. 

Her stomach flipped with anxiety as she watched Fugaku’s men gather around him.  _There have to be three hundred shinobi.  How the hell did he get so many people to fight for him?_

Fear wove its acrid way through her veins as she watched Fugaku reach up to the corner of his eye and pull a strip of skin _right off of his face_.  She fought the urge to gag, reaching up to cover her mouth in horror.  She eased her binoculars out of her pack, training her sights on Fugaku. 

She’d had a gut feeling that she already knew what was happening, but her rational brain required proof.  Orochimaru stood in front of an army wearing Fugaku Uchiha’s body, and not one of the mercenaries seemed bothered by that.  If she hadn’t been afraid for her life and for the lives of her allies and friends, she might have laughed at the absurdity of the situation. 

She could see through her binoculars that Orochimaru was signing quickly, activating yet another jutsu.  She couldn’t tell what it was, but she knew that it was bad.  Pressing her fingers to her walkie-talkie, she sent another desperate request for communication. 

“Shikamaru, come in!”

Her worst fears were confirmed when Shikamaru didn’t answer.  She was forced to cover her face with her arm as a blast of energy shot through the woods, the resulting wind gusted so hard that she had to dig her nails into the ground to avoid being swept up.  The ground pitched and trembled, and she rolled several feet to the side in horror as a large crack opened up in the ground, revealing the cave system below her.  She hid behind a large boulder, hoping against all hope that she could keep her soldiers safe

One of her squad members wasn’t fast enough to anchor himself against the explosion, and he was hurled into the air with a frantic yell.  He landed hard, twenty feet away, and she could hear his femur cracking as he hit the ground.  She resisted the urge to retch as her instincts went into overdrive and she froze as she heard a quiet chuckle.

It seemed impossible; Orochimaru was standing a hundred feet away and the wind was still gusting so hard that she could barely hear her own heartbeat thundering in her ears.  But she heard his oily laugh, clear as a bell as his chakra moved across the ground like mist.  She shuddered with disgust as his augmented chakra swept over the area where she hid; the taste of fear was foreign and acrid in her mouth.

She had only felt this terrified when Gaara had threatened her as a kid.  She knew that what she was about to face was far worse. 

Her heart skipped a beat as Orochimaru’s gaze snapped onto her men. 

_Shit._

She gritted her teeth in defiance and stood up, unfurling her giant fan in one smooth motion and dropping into a defensive stance. 

_Fuck it._

“Attack formation!”  She snarled, dragging her incisor along her palm.  “We can’t stop them, but we can buy enough time for our allies to get to us!  Take as many of them down as you can!”

“Yes, commander!”  Her remaining fighters yelled, their battle cries filling the air as they exploded towards Orochimaru’s army. 

Temari quickly pulled out a data scroll and used her blood to activate a distress beacon.  She felt her chakra shoot into the message, its frantic vibration acting like a homing call to her brother.  If anyone could muster Suna’s forces in time, it was Kankuro.

She hoped against all hope that Gaara’s secret order to deploy several platoons of elite soldiers around the edge of the Land of Fire had been successful; they needed all the help that they could get. 

Her throat felt like it was scraped raw as she let out a battle cry, spurring her soldiers to move faster.  A wave of shuriken and kunai knives whistled through the air as the two opposing forces collided. 

The war had begun. 


	40. Frequencies Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Konoha defenders attempt to thwart Orochimaru's plan to take the city.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! My gosh, I'm so sorry that it's been so long since my last update. I was overseas for a month and then I ended up with pneumonia, and then I moved houses! Long story short, it's been a wild two months. But I'm back! This chapter in its entirety is about 21k words, so I thought that it might be a good idea to split it into two parts. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you again for all of the support, it really means the world! :) xx

The walls shook. The hospital building creaked unsteadily under the force of the blows that it was currently suffering, and the cracks that radiated from the corners of the walls slowly began to widen.

Gaara paced silently in a circle, thinking hard. His characteristic silence didn't bother his companions, which suited him just fine.

What wasn't fine, however, was the fact that people were dying.

Shizune's walkie-talkie crackled with frantic transmissions as the Konoha defenders made their way through the hospital. Gaara could hear Shikamaru, Sakura, and Kakashi on the coms, and he knew that there were countless others listening in on the fifteen frequencies that the Konoha fighters were using.

His hand moved ever so slightly, sending sand into the cracks in the walls and the gaps between the locked door and the frame. With a minute twitch of his fingers, he commanded the sand to fuse together, creating a protective sheet that was harder than iron.

The room shook from the force of a test subject hurling itself against the barricade. Its furious roar shook the room, and Shizune let out an involuntary gasp of fright as the room trembled once more, showering them with sand.

Without thinking, Gaara was at her side in a flash, supporting her as she struggled to keep her concentration.

"Breathe, Shizune."

"Thank you," she murmured weakly; her eyebrows were knitted together with intense focus as she directed chakra into her wound.

Blood dripped down her arm from a terrible claw slash; dropping loudly onto the floor. Chakra hummed quietly along the laceration marks; she was working quickly. As he watched, the skin began to knit back together, concealing the white flash of bone that had been visible underneath the blood.

Gaara had found her in the corridor outside the room where they were currently ensconced, bleeding profusely from her arm and acting like the pain was nothing.

She'd managed to stun two of the test subjects who had attacked her, breathing heavily through the paralytic gas that she'd forcefully blown over them. She'd been protecting Juugo, who was too damaged to fight back.

It hadn't been enough to kill them, but it had given Gaara enough time to make an escape.

_It's a good thing she threw herself in front of Juugo, otherwise he would be dead. He's too injured to defend himself._

Shizune finished healing herself and darted to the window on the other side of the room, staring up at the chakra barrier.

"Juugo, have you ever seen anything like this?"

"No, I haven't."

The giant in question was sitting with his head in his hands.

_He's not affected by the curse marks. Hm._

The room shook again. Gaara's eyes narrowed as he repaired the damage to his barrier; it was annoying to have to hide in this room like a child.

"Shizune, you said that the patient rooms can be sealed..?"

His quiet question snapped her out of her stupor, and she nodded. "Yes. If you can keep the monsters out, then I might be able to stop anyone else getting hurt. I saw Tsunade-sama on the ground, and we know that Sakura's here. They'll be able to seal anything that I can't get to."

"They won't get through this door."

She settled into a comfortable position and used the blood from her healed wounds to scrawl several swirling shapes on the floor. A seal puffed into existence, and she unrolled it with no hesitation; her bright chakra lit up her face with an eerie glow as she worked.

"Does it have to be activated remotely?"

"No, but I can't get to the physical seals, so this is the next best thing," she replied, waving at him for quiet as she settled into the complex process of activating the hospital's contingency plan.

He fought the urge to pace again.

Gaara didn't like hiding from a fight, but he knew that he was outnumbered. He could fight them all in an open battleground, but the slowly crumbling hospital was a poor choice of arena; he'd had no choice but to herd Shizune and Juugo into an administration room on the top floor and seal the room.

Seeking refuge from the transformed test subjects had been the only option.

Gaara calmly watched the wall of sand behind which the door to the hospital administration room rested. He glanced over at Shizune, who was still sitting cross-legged on the floor as she concentrated. Her hands flew through hand-signs, shimmering with the blue light of her chakra. Without seeing the activation of the sealing jutsus scattered all over the hospital, Gaara could feel them activating.

The patient rooms were sealing, preventing anyone and anything from accessing them. Gaara also knew that certain labs were most likely also set up to be protected. Tsunade really had thought of everything.

His expression didn't show it, but he was impressed. There were very few shinobi who could do what Shizune was currently doing. Two of them were currently in the same hospital, to boot.

He could sense Sakura and her team below them somewhere. He absentmindedly fed sand into the gaps between the walls caused by the earthquake; if he could get his sand fragments close to them, he could use his Seeing Eye technique to mark Sakura's progress.

_That is, if they were able to get past the legion of transformed creatures that stand in their way._

If he had to guess how many stood outside the door, it was probably at least a dozen. That meant that the teams had to take out at least one hundred and twenty enraged monsters in order to stop them from spilling out into the village and killing anyone that they could get their hands on. He resented that he was enclosed behind a door, but he had his reasons.

He decided that he would reveal his plan at the best time; it was useless to burden his companions with unnecessary information.

The enraged screams of the test subjects were impossible to miss. The sound of their agony and sobbing cut through the air like a knife, sending tremors of unease deep into the marrow of his bones. It would take something impossibly horrific to scare Gaara, but he couldn't ignore the way that ice wound its way into his veins every time that the tortured creatures emitted a sound.

_If I could see them, I could make them stop._

That was the weakness of the sand. If he couldn't manifest his will on an object or person, he was essentially helpless to act.

A sharp scream cut through the walls, indicating that another test subject had spotted the defenders. He didn't know who it was.

The knot that he hadn't realized was sitting in his chest loosened slightly as the distant scream cut off. He knew that the creature had been put down. He felt a twinge of regret as he thought about the bedraggled group of refugees that he'd led to Konoha; they had deserved so much better than this.

Irritably, he sent out another pulse of One-Tail chakra, igniting his presence like a beacon. Almost immediately, the room shook again under the force of another attack.

He forcefully reminded himself that he was buying Naruto time to get somewhere safe. That was the best thing he could do right now.

_If Naruto ends up injured by one of these creatures, Konoha is lost._

His mind whirred through the events of the last hour, and he silently patted himself on the back for thinking up a contingency plan weeks in advance. Thanks to Sakura and Tsunade's communications with Suna, he'd been able to prepare and send several squadrons of elite Suna shinobi into the area around Konoha.

He'd disliked using Konohamaru's death as a bargaining chip, but his council had required a good reason to deploy Suna's soldiers outside of the Land of Wind. Gaara and Temari had simply pointed out that not only were the members of the Akatsuki still at large and unaccounted for, but Konoha had also defended Suna in their hour of greatest need.

Gaara had never forgotten that Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi's team had saved his life.

In any case, he was willing to put his life on the line to help them now.

It was the least that he could do. At this moment, he was immensely grateful that he'd thought ahead and insisted that Konoha be supported by Suna.

After finding out why Naruto had been targeted by Orochimaru, it now made a lot more sense why Sasori had attacked Gaara in the first place. Orochimaru had wanted a test subject for the tailed-beast chakra; if he had already known how it would react to Juugo's chakra, then he could have stayed underground for much longer and directed all of his pawns from the shadows.

Without realizing it, Naruto and Sakura had actually begun to foil Orochimaru's plans years before he'd put them into play.

His thoughts flashed to Temari, and he forced his mind to the matter at hand. He knew that she was currently fighting Orochimaru's men outside the shield that still surrounded the village.

_She's one of the strongest shinobi in Suna. She'll be able to hold out long enough for Kankuro to get to her._

His steady gaze wandered over to Juugo, who sat rigidly in the desk chair, his head still cradled in his hands. Gaara didn't have to be a mind reader to know that he was struggling to contain his grief and guilt.

Gaara knew all too well what it felt like to be a monster.

"Juugo, it doesn't help anyone if you give up," he said firmly, but not unkindly.

Juugo's head snapped up, and he scrubbed at his eyes. "This is all my fault-"

"We don't have time for this. Is there any way for you to reverse the jutsu that was created from your mutagens?"

"I don't know! I was the source of them, but I can't control it! That's why I went to Orochimaru in the first place-"

Juugo cut off, breathing hard. Gaara's pulse jumped slightly at the rise in Juugo's chakra. He made the wise decision to back off; already knowing what would happen if Juugo lost control. He raised his hands in a supplicating gesture, waving his right hand towards the door.

The room shook as another test subject hurled itself at full force towards the door. A layer of sand shattered and fell to the ground, only to reform into a hard shell and reattach itself at Gaara's silent command.

"Until we figure out how to either neutralize the threat of the test subjects or take down the jutsu that surrounds the village, we're in trouble."

"Juugo, he's right," Shizune murmured, opening her eyes at last and laboriously climbing to her feet. "I don't know if I can leave for a while; the jutsus are running off of my chakra. But, you two should get out of here; maybe try to take down the barrier by yourselves."

"At the moment, my sand is the only thing keeping you two unharmed," Gaara said bluntly, his eyes narrowing slightly. "I'm not leaving. I can trap them, given enough time."

"We're not going to leave you alone-" Shizune began in a furious whisper, darting a glance towards the door.

"I won't be alone. Shikamaru, Ino, Kiba, and Sakura's team are all in the hospital. If anyone can stop the threat, it's them. Go, leave using the window. The same way that Guy and Rock Lee left, it's probably the safest route."

"You think that if you leave, they'll follow you," Shizune said slowly, her eyes widening, "Shikamaru's radio transmission said that they're after the Nine-Tails, which means that they're able to track chakra from the tailed beasts."

Almost guiltily, Gaara released another burst of chakra. The room shook once again, trembling as the creatures outside roared with frustration.

Shizune's hand reached up to absentmindedly touch the walkie talkie that she'd hurriedly grabbed when they'd dashed up to the safety of the top floor.

"Yes," Gaara said simply, waving his hand once again and reinforcing the barricade on the door. The plaster on the walls beside the door frame began to crack and fall off, prompting him to spread yet more sand over the portal.

"Are you sure that they're not after me?" Juugo asked quietly, easing himself into a standing position. Gaara didn't miss the way that he cradled his ribs, moving gingerly towards them.

"Perhaps only to kill you. At the moment, I'm more valuable to them. If I leave, they may follow me out into the village. I don't think that they know that I'm not the Nine-Tails."

"You're buying Naruto time," Juugo said quietly, a soft laugh escaping him as he regarded Gaara with a newfound respect.

"I owe him my life, many times over. It's the least that I can do," Gaara said simply. "Go."

The room shook once again.

* * *

Naruto and Sasuke ran, as quickly as their feet could carry them to the Uchiha compound. Chaos had erupted in the streets, and it was all that they could do to keep to the rooftops and avoid the rioting of panicked citizens and shinobi.

Naruto felt panic gnawing at his stomach as they skidded to a stop outside of the grand gates that led into the Uchiha district.

He glanced to his left, somewhat comforted by the fact that Sasuke barely appeared to be perturbed. He was wrong.

Naruto would have recognized the set of Sasuke's jaw anywhere; he was furious.

After Tsunade had demanded that they leave, they had made for the tunnels that connected the hospital to the morgue. The ground had begun to shake uncontrollably, and Naruto had very nearly been thrown off his feet several times as the earth had shook and buckled beneath their feet.

They'd dashed through the building, weaving around gurneys and surgical instrument sterilization bays until they'd resurfaced onto the street half a block from the hospital. Naruto had caught a glance of Tsunade, who was barking orders and activating some kind of sealing jutsu from the outside.

That's when he'd heard the screams. The hospital had shook with some kind of activating jutsu, and explosions rocked the building as the test subjects had lost their minds.

He'd been so worried about the people in the building that he'd barely noticed the dome that surrounded Konoha. Sasuke had let out a quiet oath, glaring up at it with his furiously spinning sharingan.

"Naruto, that's Orochimaru. He's using what's left of my father's chakra to power the barrier.  It's the Susanoo." 

As far as Naruto could tell, everything was going to shit. Just as he was about to start panicking, Sakura and her team had landed in front of the hospital doors. She was glowing with purple chakra and shimmering with energy.

Naruto had never seen her like this, and he knew, just by looking at her, that she had enough power in her body to level Konoha. The fact that she had Chouji and the Hyuugas with her had somewhat tempered his concern; if anyone could stop whatever was going on inside, it was them.

His gaze had landed on Hinata, and she had looked so determined that he'd felt his heart skip a beat. Her chakra pulsed like a flare, and he'd never been so certain of anything in his life; he wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Konoha wasn't playing games. The fighting force of shinobi weren't playing it safe, and they were prepared to die.

He didn't envy Orochimaru, and his lip had curled wolfishly at the thought. He'd been pulled out of his thoughts as Sakura had begun to argue, quickly and quietly, with Tsunade.

Tsunade had grabbed Sakura by the shoulders and shaken her, but Sakura had simply set her jaw and said something that was too quiet for Naruto to hear.

He knew what it was without hearing a word, and his stomach rioted with worry. He knew that Sakura had made the point that she was technically more expendable than Tsunade was.

Naruto wholeheartedly disagreed, but he knew that Konoha couldn't afford to lose both of them.

He'd watched silently with Sasuke, holding his breath until Tsunade's shoulders had slumped in defeat and she'd allowed Sakura, Hinata, Hanabi, and Neji to dart inside.

Naruto still wasn't sure if he should feel relieved that Sakura and their friends were currently fighting what sounded like monsters from a nightmare. His attention was forcibly yanked back to the present as Sasuke shot into the roof of the tallest building in the Uchiha district.

He couldn't have predicted what he did next.

Sasuke took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and activated his sharingan. "Uchiha clansmen, I've been sent by the Hokage with a message."

Perhaps for the first time in his life, Naruto made the wise decision to keep his mouth shut and let Sasuke do the talking. Sasuke hadn't spoken louder than a quiet yell, but it was as effective as a gunshot.

The district had been alive with panic, but it was now so quiet that he could have heard a pin drop. Sasuke continued, as if he wasn't being stared at like he'd sprouted a third head.

"You may not know me personally, but you know my name. I'm Sasuke Uchiha, and I've come bearing news."

"Speak, Sasuke!" was the response, coming from a small, wizened old woman who tottered to the front of the rapidly growing crowd.

Sasuke didn't waste any time.

"My father, Fugaku Uchiha is dead. Orochimaru currently has possession of his sharingan, and is now waging war against Konoha. We don't have a choice; we have to fight with the village."

"It's not our fight!"

Sasuke glared into the crowd, his mangekyou swirling across the scarlet of his sharingan as he replied. "How many Uchiha have to die before you realize that Konoha isn't the enemy?"

Silence greeted him, and Naruto felt a rush of triumph as Sasuke continued to speak, delivering an address that would have made Kakashi puff up with pride.

"Shisui, my mother, my father, and I have all died because of my father's lust for power. I know who was involved, and I know how many of you are waiting for the Hokage to fall. As the second son, I saw everything. I died for my clan, and what I believed to be its destiny. There will be a reckoning if we continue down this path, and I'm not sure that we would win."

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek as he felt the pinprick of tears behind his eyes. Sasuke seemed so young as he stood in front of a huge crowd of his relatives. Most of them he'd never met, but who now looked at him as if he was someone who inspired hope and loyalty.

"But all of that doesn't matter now. We're under attack, and Orochimaru is using my father's sharingan –our kekkei genkai- to do it. Are you going to stand around and hide as our heritage is used to destroy everything that we've built?"

The buzz of the crowd started quietly, but rose as steadily and as surely as a storm. Naruto watched in rapt silence as the scarlet of the sharingan began to bloom through the eyes of those watching them. Before long, he couldn't count how many burgundy gazes met his own, and for the first time since the barrier had been erected, he felt hope taking root in his chest.

"Will you fight for our home?" Sasuke roared, his voice booming out over the square. "Will you fight with me?"

The resulting roar of affirmation from his clan sent a shiver down Naruto's spine. As one, the crowd dropped to one knee and raised kunai above their heads in a salute. Naruto watched in impressed silence as the courtyard exploded with movement, filling with the sounds of clanking body armour and the sharpening of weapons.

_Damn. He should have done that ages ago. Fuck hiding. I'm going to help._

Naruto took a deep breath and glanced at Sasuke. "Hey. I'm not going underground."

"Yes, you are," Sasuke began in a furious whisper, his gaze flicking down at the Uchiha warriors who were quickly strapping on full body armour. He turned his back to them, searching for privacy as he obviously prepared to ream Naruto out.

"No, I'm not. We need something that can target Orochimaru's chakra, right?"

"You're going to have to explain."

Naruto crossed his arms and pointed upwards at the shimmering dome that still enclosed Konoha. "You said that the technique is like the Susanoo, so that means that the Uchiha chakra can't be messed with."

"Yeah, I did," Sasuke admitted reluctantly, his eyes narrowing as he attempted to puzzle out Naruto's train of thought.

"So, we gotta attack it with something that affects  _Orochimaru's_  chakra, not Fugaku's."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "You want to use his own chakra against him. How?"

"Those test subjects would be a good place to start," Naruto said bluntly, gesturing back towards the hospital. "Sakura won't have killed them all. We can use my clones to direct them to attack the dome."

"You'd better figure out how to stop them from killing everyone that they come across."

"It'll be easy. They're gonna be too busy tryin' to kill me!" Naruto finished triumphantly with a flourish, darting back towards the hospital.

"Naruto!"

"You get your fighters into a place where they'll be useful, I'll lead the curse marked test subjects towards the dome!"

He was too far away to hear Sasuke's loud groan of frustration. Naruto finally addressed the walkie talkie that Tsunade had given him when they'd escaped the hospital.

"You hear all of that, Kakashi-sensei?"

_"Loud and clear, Naruto. Gaara's covering for you, so you've got at least a dozen who are honing in on the tailed beast chakra. Be careful."_

"Got it."

Naruto took his finger off of the transmitter, glaring up towards the dome as he shot over the rooftops of the city.

"Let's go!"

Forty shadow clones burst into existence, running along with a racket that sounded like hail along the terracotta of the roof tiles. Blazing with chakra, they made a beeline for the hospital, yelling loud enough for the entire village to hear.

"Hey! The Nine-Tails is right here!"

Right on cue, part of the hospital roof exploded outwards, and a swarm of heavily armored creatures burst out onto the roof. Naruto wanted to do nothing more than pivot and run in the other direction, but as per usual, his courage overwhelmed his common sense. Gaara burst out onto the roof after them, wielding a huge cloud of sand that he'd obviously pulled from both his ever-present gourd and the ruins of the cement blocks that held the roof together.

Naruto hollered at him as Gaara quickly and efficiently trapped the raging test subjects, encasing them in a giant ball of hardened sand. Their attempts to break free only made the sand on the outer surface spin faster as Gaara fixed the breaches as quickly as they were made.

"Hey, don't kill them! We need them!"

"Naruto?"

"Make a tunnel and guide them towards the dome. We're gonna try to use them to break it!"

Without another word, Gaara directed his sand downwards and into the tunnel shape that Naruto had described. The roars of the creatures inside made the hair on the back of Naruto's neck stand up, but he directed his clones to run along the side of the makeshift tunnel, herding the test subjects towards the dome.

_This had better work._

* * *

Temari gasped for breath, strafing backwards as she slowly but surely fought for her life.

Her chakra sputtered in her veins, struggling along as she forced her body to move. Her fan whistled as she swung it with all of her might, buffeting her attackers with a furious blast of air. She vaulted over the bodies of three of her companions, furious that she couldn't spare a second to mourn them.

She released a wave of kunai, trying to buy time for Kankuro and his men to arrive. She was so battle-weary that she didn't even flinch as four men were cut down by her weapons; she had a knack for hitting vital organs or arteries.

Temari could feel the acidic tang of panic rising in her throat as she took in the sight of the battlefield. Her men had been decimated, and she could see several Konoha ANBU masks lying next to bodies that she didn't recognize.

They'd been barely two minutes into the fight when Orochimaru had disappeared. Temari's squad had teamed up with an ANBU group that had been trapped outside of the barrier when the jutsu went up, fighting together to increase their chances for survival. She didn't know who they were, and what their names were, but she didn't need to. She was in an alliance forged out of desperation and international relations, not friendship.

She couldn't see any of her men still fighting. She knew in her gut that they were dead.

When she was satisfied that she'd managed to injure enough shinobi to take a moment to rest, she leaned gratefully against a tree. She breathed deeply, trying to take stock of the plethora of cuts and scrapes that covered her body. Temari was sure that none of them were poisoned, but enough blood oozed sluggishly out of several of them that she was a little bit concerned.

She pushed the button on her walkie talkie, feeling more than a little bit foolish. She needed to hear that Shikamaru was okay.

"Shikamaru, I hope you're doing better than we are in there. We're getting slaughtered-"

Her voice cracked on the last syllable, shattering her falsely cheery façade. She fought down a breathless sob and forced herself to continue.

"-but it's all going to be good as soon as Kankuro gets here."

_"Temari-"_

"Just don't get yourself killed, okay?" She finished, pressing her hand to her mouth as she took her finger off of the button.

_"Temari, hang on! We're doing okay in here, but you need to focus on stayin' alive_!" Shikamaru's panicked tones rang out loud and clear across the frequency.

"I don't know if I'm going to survive this," she admitted, wiping blood off of a large cut on her wrist. "I just wanted you to know that I was an idiot."

_"What does that mean?"_

"It means that I would have liked to have given us a shot," she whispered, staring at the wave of attackers that had materialized less than fifty feet from her. "I'm sorry that I never let us be more than friends."

Slowly, she unfurled her fan and lowered her centre of gravity.

_"Temari! Hey, don't you dare give up! Talk to me_ -" Shikamaru demanded, his voice suddenly cutting off as an even larger number of enemies climbed out of a hidden network of tunnels that led underneath the village and made a beeline for her. He could have been speaking, but she was so focused that she didn't register any sound.

Her brain whirred, counting the number of shinobi who were running at top speed. There had to be at least thirty of them.

Temari knew that she didn't have enough chakra to fight a quarter of them, not in the state that she was in. She dropped to one knee, preparing herself for pain as she drew back her fan.

Her chakra levels suddenly dropped as she infused her fan with a measure of it; they were almost too low for her to fight after using too much of her wind release technique. That's when she also realized that she was also out of kunai and shuriken.

All that she had were explosive tags and her fan, and neither of those things worked well in close-quarters combat. She had to use her taijutsu until Kankuro could get to her.

At this point, genjutsu wasn't going to work; her enemies were too close.

She found herself frozen in terror for the first time in her life. A wave of fighters descended on her, taking advantage of her moment of weakness to attack.

Then, out of nowhere, she heard an eerie clacking sound.

_Finally._

A wave of wooden and metal puppets shot past her, spraying poisoned needles at the wave of shinobi who descended towards her. They began to fall, yelling and cursing with pain and frustration as the odd creatures released another wave of weapons.

Dozens of shinobi from Suna suddenly thundered past her, attacking with the force of a speeding bullet. Orochimaru's ranks began to scatter, engaging with Kankuro's group and moving away from where Temari still stood, still rooted to the spot.

Relief suddenly made her knees weak, and she crumpled to the ground, sucking in a grateful breath. Her heart was still racing so fast that she thought that her chest was going to burst, but the ice of fright was quickly ebbing away from her limbs.

"What took you so long?!"

Temari's voice was hoarse with relief and emotion, and she gratefully allowed herself to be swept into her brother's embrace. She pulled away almost immediately, scrubbing at her eyes.

"Hey, I'm here aren't I?" Kankuro drawled, flashing a thumbs up at her as he fought to keep the worry out of his tone.

"Just kill them, would ya? We've got bigger problems. Orochimaru is gone."

"Nah, he's around the other side of the dome. He's on top of a giant snake."

"Oh, well that's not reassuring. If we can injure him-"

"Not now. You've gotta get somewhere where you can patch yourself back up before you jump back into battle," he said firmly, staring at her with uncharacteristic seriousness that made her stop talking mid-sentence. "You gotta radio Shikamaru anyways. He came into range about two hundred feet back. He's pissed at you."

"Oh."

Temari flushed deeply, now realizing that not only had she told Shikamaru how she felt about him, but she'd also flicked off her com. He was probably screeching into it and terrified that she was dead.

_Oh shit. I'm an idiot._

"Konoha wasn't totally prepared for this attack."

"Huh?"

"They managed to surprise you by using the tunnels," Kankuro clarified, gesturing at the huge holes in the ground where Orochimaru's men had tunneled through the layer of earth that covered the subterranean system. "There have got to be more of them going under the dome right now. I don't know if anyone on the inside knows that they're about to get attacked from below."

"Shit. Gaara's in there with them."

"He'll be fine. It's everyone else who should be worried."

Temari nodded and flicked the dial on her com, clearing the frequency of static before she spoke into it.

"Hey, Shikamaru. You need to forget everything that I just said. They're underground and coming in fast."

_"You're damn lucky that you're alive, Temari. When this is over, you owe me a drink."_

* * *

Sakura was too angry to weep. Rage thundered through her body as she landed hard, one leg splayed out to distribute her weight. In her cold fury, she didn't even stop to consider what she'd just had to do as she wiped blood off of her face. The blood droplets had dried quickly, a macabre collection of freckles that marked her as a force to be reckoned with. She was covered in the scarlet liquid, and it just made her angrier.

"Sakura, behind you!"

She glanced up at the sound of thundering footsteps, rising into a defensive stance as she caught sight of another test subject, his body contorting and growing as he screamed in pain. Sakura forced herself to ignore his sobs for help and demands for the Nine-Tails as he moved towards her, his outstretched hands transforming into razor-sharp claws. Her brain struggled to make sense of the situation, and a small part of her demanded that she run and hide.

The rational side of her was too powerful.

_Screw this._

She was a shinobi, and she'd rather die than let her village fall to Orochimaru. She shoved her fear and revulsion to the back of her mind, her battle instincts taking over and affording her the kind of calm that she admired in Itachi.

_Come on, Sakura. Focus. Remember the Ninja Way._

She would do whatever she had to do to save the patients trapped in the hospital. No matter what, they had to come first. Her body hummed with barely restrained chakra, and she allowed herself a deep breath.

"Stand down," she demanded calmly, palming a kunai as the test subject continued towards her, ignoring her warning. His only response was another growl of pain, his mouth struggling to form words as his mouth expanded, filling with rows upon rows of jagged teeth.

**"Give me the Kyuubi!"**

"Never."

The air around her body vibrated with power, and she tapped into it as the huge, hulking figure exploded towards her. She pivoted, using her huge well of chakra to shoot enough power into her leg to slam the giant to the ground. The force of the hit was enough to depress the floor, and she pulled her strength just in time to avoid sending him shooting through three floors of the hospital.

_The last thing that I need is to hurt anyone by taking the building out. Get him into position!_

Her fist was quick to follow the stunning blow, and she fed more chakra into her limbs to hold down the struggling, armored figure as her arm shot out to rip off a hunk of the rocky layer that protected the mutilated test subject. She nearly winced as blood sprayed upwards in a frantic spout, showering her once again in guilt and horror. The test subject's chest was quickly revealed as Sakura tore off the armor that protected his chest. Once his under-layer was revealed, she called over her shoulder.

"Okay, he's ready! Watch the ribs!"

Hinata didn't waste a single second; she was at Sakura's side in a flash, her byakugan pulsing as she quickly and efficiently jabbed her fingers into three pre-determined chakra points. The writhing test subject breathed in a shocked breath and then went limp as the source of Orochimaru's malignant chakra was disabled. Immediately, his rapidly blinking eyes lightened, and his body began to shrink as the effects of the curse mark receded.

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. Her hands glowed with the healing power of her chakra, and she made sure to heal the damage that she'd inflicted.

"I'm sorry. There was no other way," she murmured, determinedly crushing the wave of guilt and disgust that threatened to overwhelm her.

"Sakura, we're making good progress," Hinata replied, flicking her dark hair over her shoulder. "We've disabled eight so far."

"We need to move faster!" Sakura replied firmly, standing up and striding quickly towards the hole that the test subject had blown through the wall. "We have over a hundred to incapacitate. We've already wasted enough time. People are dying. We couldn't seal all of the rooms fast enough. I don't know how many people are vulnerable to attack."

She trailed off, knowing full well that they knew the scale of what they were dealing with.

Neji dropped from the floor above, landing silently behind Hinata as Sakura turned to glance at him. She didn't miss the way that his eyes widened slightly as he took in the sight of the blood that covered every inch of her exposed skin. She knew that she looked like a nightmare; the chakra that marked the activation of her seal shone brightly underneath the scarlet wash, bathing her in an eerie glow.

"Where's Naruto?" She asked abruptly, turning on her heel to glance at Chouji, who had just lumbered through the hole that connected the hallways that she was currently staring down. "I can't sense him."

"Dunno," Chouji rumbled, gesturing downwards. "I don't think he's up top, we would have heard fighting by now. He's gotta be underground."

"Good," Sakura replied, unsheathing a poisoned kunai and palming it with a practised hand. She had descended into cold fury at this point, moving mechanically and by instinct. To her great relief, her emotions remained in check. The last thing that she needed was to fall apart. She couldn't afford to lose control.

"Neji, did you see anything that can help speed up our progress?" Hinata asked, her tone firmer than Sakura had ever heard it. As soon as Naruto's name had been brought up, she'd been unexpectedly authoritative.

"No, we haven't. But we're going to have a problem if we don't move," Hanabi said pointedly, gesturing behind Sakura. "Some of them are moving towards us in a large group."

"Good, let them come," Hinata said coldly, her characteristically soft voice had hardened into something that Sakura hadn't heard from her before. She decided that she liked this version of Hinata.

"Yeah?" Sakura asked, fighting to keep a savage grin off of her face.

"The faster we finish this and help our friends, the better," Hinata amended hurriedly, blushing faintly as their surprised gazes swept over her.

_When we make it through this, I'm going to have to tell the knucklehead to hurry up and ask Hinata out already_ , Sakura thought with a small smirk, preparing to shoot upwards as another concussion blast shook the hospital.

"Let's talk on the move!" She called, pouring chakra into her muscles and forcing her body to move.

Her teammates kept pace as she sped up the wall of the elevator shaft, moving so fast that they were nearly a blur.

"The chakra has a strange form, like a crystal. If we can shatter it from a distance, we should be able to make our attacks more effective," Neji called, his brow furrowing as the byakugan pulsed powerfully in his forehead.

"How do we shatter them, though? Hitting them doesn't seem to make a difference," Hanabi remarked, her bright eyes narrowing as they moved. "They're scattered at the moment, so if we're going to experiment, now's the time."

"Wait, don't crystals vibrate?" Hinata asked suddenly, darting up beside Sakura. "If we can figure out what frequency they're oscillating at, we should be able to use another vibration to shatter them."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Hinata, you're a genius! Do we know anyone who can generate a frequency on that scale?"

Hinata's expression hardened. "Shino can create one, given an environment that could support it. Kiba and Akamaru can detect what it's going to take to break the crystals, and Shino's bugs should be able to match it. Can Gaara use his sand to do it on a larger scale?"

"He should be able to create the echoic environment," Neji replied, gesturing upwards with a wave of his hand. "They're on the top floor. Juugo's there as well, but his chakra is quiet.  I think they're on the move now, though."

Sakura's expression hardened and she shot more chakra into her legs; she needed to move faster. "I'll go up there. You three keep working to take down as many attackers as you can. Keep them contained, if it's possible-"

She was cut off as an explosion obliterated the wall of the elevator shaft above them. The monster that lumbered into the light gave a blood-curdling screech as it peered down into the darkness. Without waiting for a command, Chouji exploded upwards, striking the mutilated test subject across the face and punting it backwards into the hallway beyond the rift.

"Go, Sakura!" He hollered, landing hard and straightening up to face the creature, who was struggling to its feet as it let out a mournful howl of pain. "We'll take care of this here, just get to Gaara! If they can't get to Naruto, he's the next best thing."

Sakura paused just long enough to see Neji and Hinata land beside him, their kekkei genkai pulsing with full force as they dropped into the forms of their jutsu. Hanabi joined them a second later, nodding at her silent question.

_Go. We've got this._

Comforted by the fact that they were working together in a group, she continued upwards. The seal fed a constant source of power into her body, washing away any soreness or protests from her muscles.

Now that she was alone, it was difficult to keep her fear from pouring into her stomach. She could taste the iron tang of blood in her mouth, and she scrubbed at her face with her sleeve as she came to a stop at the top floor. Using her strength, she forced the elevator doors to open from the inside, smirking at how little effort she needed to expend to warp the huge steel doors.

The sight that greeted her at the end of the hallway where Juugo's chakra was pulsing made her heart leap into her chest. Blood dripped past her and down into the elevator shaft, echoing against the metal beams of the chute. She fought down a wave of revulsion when the source of the blood turned to face her.

A dozen of the transformed shinobi stood at the hospital administration doors, groaning with pain and rage as they took in the sight of her. Sakura forced herself to descend once more into icy calm, even though she wanted to throw up at the sight of the massacre that greeted her.

She'd known the nurses and doctor whose bodies had been torn apart. Without hearing their story, she knew that they'd died trying to stop the curse-marked attackers. It took every ounce of her control to keep her emotions in check, which made the well of anger and rage inside of her ignite. The emotional side of her forced her to pause, checking the chakra signatures of the patients that were still trapped in their rooms.

To her great relief, they'd been sealed into their rooms, and seemed to be largely unharmed; the murdered staff had managed to activate the protection jutsus that were layered over every inch of the building. Sakura had slowly activated the base floors as she and her team had advanced through the first two levels of the hospital, preventing any test subjects from doubling back and killing anyone that they could get their hands on.

She couldn't ignore the sight of the transformed creatures, of their wings and jagged teeth, of the agonized groans and whimpers that filled the air.  _They're in so much pain; it's no wonder that they've lost their minds. Don't give them a chance to mobilize and attack you as a group, they're stronger together. I can take them down with brute force, but it'll be difficult if they're swarming me._

Without waiting to give the test subjects a chance to advance on her as a group, she released another measure of chakra. The purple glow of her jutsu shone through the sheen of blood that covered her arms, illuminating the hallway with the ghostly light. Her chakra hummed through her veins, warming the air around her body; she took a short, deep breath before exploding forwards.

She shot towards the test subjects, yelling out a hoarse battle cry that was filled with fury. Sakura slammed into the first of the group with the force of a speeding train, sending him flying backwards. He flew backwards and collided with another of the test subjects with a sound that reminded her of a rockslide. She didn't even take a second to spare a glance at their broken carapaces and limbs that were bent at impossible angles as they struggled to breathe.

She knew that she hadn't inflicted any damage that was life-threatening; her priority wasn't to pull her punches. If she couldn't stop them, countless others would die.

_Just get through this, and then you can feel bad about what you've done._

A sudden flash of powerful chakra made her glance towards the roof.

_…Naruto?_

Her jaw dropped as the test subjects suddenly and abruptly turned away from her and darted upwards. She followed them at a distance, flabbergasted as to why they would suddenly switch targets. Her chakra-powered limbs took her to the top of the hospital in a flash, and she almost let out a grunt of shocked surprise as the test subjects disappeared into a huge tunnel made of sand that had formed around a massive tear in the ceiling.

_Naruto. You idiot. You managed to rope Gaara into your plan too?_

"What the hell is happening?!" She demanded, throwing her hands up in the air.

She turned on her heel and gestured wildly at the sand tunnel as Neji darted into the hallway behind her and stared in confused silence at the portal.

His eyes narrowed and his gaze turned slightly sheepish as he clued into something that she wasn't privy to.

"Neji, you'd better tell me what the hell is going on."

He sighed. "Naruto thinks he's helping by using the test subjects to attack the dome."

Sakura's eyebrows shot up into her hair. "That's not a bad idea, but how are we going to stop them from killing everyone in the village if they aren't contained?!"

She could hear her tone rising higher and higher as she really settled into feeling pissed off and annoyed about Naruto's inability to follow a plan.

_Shit! I'm going to kill him when I get my hands on him!_

"We need to get to Gaara and get Shino to help us with the frequencies," Neji said firmly, glancing back towards the elevator shaft as the rest of their team climbed up to join them. "Kiba's around here somewhere. We can salvage this."

"You'd better be right, or we're all dead," Chouji remarked drily, gesturing at the sand tunnel. "That's not good."

_Yeah, no shit._

* * *

Ino slammed her scroll down on the table, glaring up into the amphitheater that held the former council members of Konoha.

_I can't believe I'm here right now. People are dying, and these old cronies are sealed away in this stupid room!_

"I don't care if you don't agree with this document, but it was written by the First Hokage and sealed by his blood. It can't be ignored."

Her furious statement was nearly drowned out by the cacophony of shouting and protests that echoed through the room.

"Yamanaka-san, you cannot dissolve this council! It must be done by the Hokage-"

"I'm going to ignore what you just said," Ino began coldly, her expression leaving no room for negotiation, "The Hokage is currently defending the village from Orochimaru. If you took your heads out of your asses for a minute, you'd notice that we're under attack!"

A note of panic bled into her tone, and she took a deep breath, willing herself with all of her might to keep it together.

Her friends were fighting for their lives, and everything was on the verge of falling apart. She was only in this room because of her loyalty to Tsunade, but she was willing to toss all that aside the second that her friends needed her help.

_Shut up already!_

The room fell silent at last; she could have heard a pin drop. She gathered what was left of her resolve and hardened her tone. "Given that we are at war, your opinions don't matter. You will step aside. The war council has already been chosen. If we survive this, then you can whine about how unfair it is-"

"Yamanaka-san-"

"I'm not finished, Danzo. Either you shut up, or you get out there and fight for your village. The time for arguing about hypotheticals is done."

"What's happening out there?"

The quiet question came from Homuro Mitokado, who had risen to his feet and now surveyed her with interest.

_What?! You don't know-oh. I forgot. They're literally sealed in here._

Ino sighed. "During my meeting with the Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, and Uchiha Sasuke, there was an explosion in the hospital. An earthquake rocked the village, which you already know. Orochimaru released the curse marks that he'd put on his test subjects. Before a couple of days ago, we didn't know that he could activate them from a distance."

"Why wasn't this discovered? Why where they allowed into the village if you were aware of the possibility?"

Ino's eyes narrowed.

"If you'd been around when they showed up, you wouldn't ask that question. They are broken, physically and spiritually. If we'd denied them medical attention, it would have been as good as a death sentence."

"What is the effect of the curse mark?"

Ino took a deep breath, fighting against the wave of panic that once again threatened to rise up inside of her. Her throat ached, and she absentmindedly touched her fingers to the dark mess of bruises that covered her skin as she remembered what had happened.

"The test subjects have transformed into monsters. They develop some kind of rocky, shield-like armour that prevents normal weapons from getting through. Apparently Orochimaru is able to communicate with them, and he's demanding that they free the Nine-Tails. Shikamaru Nara reported that they carry blades that can react to the chakra of the Nine-Tails and free the beast. Orochimaru nearly succeeded in that goal seven months ago."

"Have you seen this for yourself?"

"Yes. I barely made it out of there. The Hokage tasked me with getting this to you, and I almost failed. The creatures are strong, so strong that even Tsunade-sama might have trouble out muscling one."

"Tell the council what you saw," Mitokado asked bluntly, surveying her with an odd expression in his ancient eyes.

"Death. The chakra that the creatures are affected by is like a cancer. They're tortured by it. The worst part is that not one of them wants to be doing Orochimaru's bidding. He's controlling them with fear and pain."

At that, she dropped the genjutsu that camouflaged her injuries.

A chorus of sharp gasps echoed through the theatre, but she continued before she lost her nerve. "I was making my way upstairs to check on the test subjects when the earthquake hit. I was thrown down a set of stairs during the aftershocks, and when I came to, there was a…creature staring down at me. She was moaning and crying, chanting that the pain was driving her insane-"

Ino cut off as her voice cracked, but she powered on, determined to finish her story. "-she hauled me up and threw me into a wall. I was pretty much stunned, so I couldn't fight back when she grabbed me by the throat and pinned me. My kunai were useless against her armour, and I thought that I was going to die."

"What happened?"

"Kiba and Akamaru came out of nowhere. They managed to get her off me and then-"

"Go on," Mitokado murmured quietly, his clever face solemn as he gently prompted her to continue.

"Akamaru ripped her head off," Ino whispered, trying to ignore the pinprick of tears behind her eyes. "They tried to pin her first, talk some sense into her, but then she sank her fangs into Kiba's arm, and Akamaru protected him. We couldn't save her."

_Ino had struggled to breathe, scrabbling with her nails against the arm of the creature that had attacked her. She'd fought to pull air into her lungs, her veins had burned from a lack of oxygen. Everything began to fade, and her vision_ _had begu_   _n to swim with black spots._

_Her hands had then dropped as she'd lost the ability to control her arms, and she'd nearly forgotten about fighting for her life when she'd suddenly hit the ground. Her lungs had burned_   _as a flow of oxygen had returned to her body, and she'd started to gasp like a fish out of water. Her vision had slowly cleared, and she'd managed to focus on a frantically struggling Kiba, who had been trying to force the creature away from Ino._

_"Stop, this isn't you; you're under Orochimaru's control-arrgh!"_

_Kiba's howl of pain had ripped through her like a knife, and she'd darted forwards, thrusting a kunai into the carapace of the monster that hung onto Kiba's arm with iron-strong teeth. Her kunai had had no effect, shattering against the armour that protected the creature._

_Ino had barely had time to react before Akamaru had lunged past her; his powerful legs had propelled him towards the armoured attacker. His nails had scrabbled on the ground as he'd launched himself at the test subject, throwing her off of Kiba. Ino had then quickly reached out for him, her hands already glowing with bright chakra as she checked the large, jagged wound for poison. To her great relief, she'd found none, and was just healing the damage when Kiba had suddenly pulled her against his body and rolled to the side._

_Ino had nearly begun to protest when she'd realized that he'd barely gotten them out of the way of a large, scaly tail. The test subject had an appendage that was shaped like a club, and it thrashed as she'd struggled beneath the weight of Akamaru's body. The blade that had suddenly materialized in her hand had fallen to the ground and shattered, apparently unable to keep its shape without its meister._

_Akamaru had continued to fight with the creature, his powerful jaws snapping as he'd snarled and bit at her neck. His nails and teeth had scrabbled along the woman's carapace, struggling to get a hold on the slippery exoskeleton._

_Ino had screamed, covering her mouth in her horror as Akamaru's jaws had suddenly snapped shut, tearing through the creature's neck with ease. The test subject had writhed as the body had shrunk, the armour receding until a young woman lay motionless on the floor. She looked so small and delicate; it seemed almost impossible that she'd been a hulking monster only moments before._

_Ino's tears had streamed down her face as she'd dragged herself over to where the girl still lay, turning the body over to inspect the fatal wound that had severed the carotid artery._

_She had been so absorbed in trying to save the girl that she'd barely noticed that Akamaru had sat down next to her; he'd tried to lick the tears from her cheeks._

_"He didn't have to kill her," she'd said hollowly, finally looking away from the blank eyes of the girl and staring up at Kiba, who had risen to his feet and walked over to stand next to her._

_"It was either her or you, and I wasn't gonna let you die," Kiba had replied gruffly, kneeling down so that he could look her in the eye._

_"Kiba-"_

_"No. Don't give me that heroic shit. You were dying, and you can't ask me to let the thing that attacked you live-"_

_He'd cut off as she'd reached up to place her hand on his chest._

_"Thank you. Don't get yourself killed."_

_"Heh, it'll take more than a few monsters to kill me-"_

**_"Ino, hey! Pick up your damn com!"_ **

_They had both jumped as the walkie-talkie that she wore let out a loud squawk. Ino had hurriedly pressed her finger to the button that sent transmissions._

_"Shikamaru! What's happening with you?"_

**_"I'm fighting my way through the third floor. You've gotta get out of there. Did Kiba find you?"_ **

_"Yeah," Ino snuck at glance at Kiba, who shrugged, "He did."_

**_"Good. Tsunade's taken the tunnels underground down to Orochimaru's lab. She's taking care of something there; she needs you to take the scroll that you found to the council meeting."_ **

_"What? Why me?"_

_Ino had been surprised by the request; she had a good relationship with the Hokage, but she wouldn't have considered herself one of Tsunade's inner circle._

**_"You're in the intelligence corps, genius. You've got the most credibility of all of us right now-"_ **

_He cut off as a roar echoed through the com; the sound had sent a shudder of fright down Ino's spine._

Ino forced her thoughts back to the present. She had to struggle to focus on the question that was asked of her. Her stomach still rioted with dread and guilt, and she couldn't help but worry about Kiba and Akamaru.

"So, you're telling me that there are more than a hundred of these creatures running rampant in the hospital as we speak? Where the hell is the host of the Nine-Tails?!" Danzo demanded, rising to his feet and glaring down at her with his one good eye.

"Sakura Haruno and her team are currently disabling the curse marks, and Shikamaru Nara and Kiba are also running backup," Ino said coldly, ignoring the angry tear that slipped down her cheek. "Naruto is hidden; Shikamaru told me that he has a plan."

"And the patients?"

"That hospital is well prepared. I put tons of those protection genjutsus and sealing jutsus on the place myself. Shizune is apparently on the top floor activating them. She's with the Kazekage. I'm going to say this once: either you prepare for the fight, or you can be sealed in here like a coward."

"Your position is not to critique the council, Yamanaka-"

"Oh yes, it is. If you'd done what you were supposed to do, we wouldn't be in this position. All of this grabbing for power, the favors, the overlooking of nepotism and bribery- you're not what the village needs. We need fighters who are loyal to Konoha. If you don't consider yourself a part of that category then I'll happily arrest you myself."

The silence that followed her words was deafening. She flipped her ponytail over her shoulder and addressed the room one last time.

"Your time is over. It's time to pick what side you're on. It's either Orochimaru's, or ours."

Mitokado sighed deeply, rising once more to his feet. "Your methods are not what I would consider elegant, Yamanaka-sama. However, your particular brand of bluntness is what we currently need. I will fight with you."

Fluidly, as if they were of one mind, the rest of the council stood up, amidst the rustling of robes and the creaking of old bones. Ino felt her mouth ticking up into a smirk as all forty three members of the council stood at attention.

"We will fight for Konoha. The war council stands unchallenged. Yamanaka-sama, where are we needed?"

"You can start by getting ready. The real battle hasn't even started yet," Ino began firmly, already running out of the amphitheatre. "Bring everything you've got. I'm talking kekkei genkai, secret techniques, everything. I won't tell you how to fight; you're old enough to know that already. Get the civilians into the bunkers underneath the mountain. Underground is the safest place right now."

* * *

Itachi darted along the chakra barrier, searching for any weakness. To his great frustration, he found none. His sharingan spun in a spiraling mix of scarlet and black as he inspected Orochimaru's technique. It was powered by the Sannin's chakra, not Fugaku's. Itachi wasn't sure if he was relieved or annoyed by that fact.

Given that it had been adapted from the Susanoo, he didn't have any starting point with which to try to decipher it. He couldn't see Orochimaru, so he couldn't even begin to copy and intercept the technique.

_He's smart. It's going to take something either very clever or very stupid to outwit him._

He watched in silence for a moment as dark shapes flitted over the other side of the barrier, an indication of the attacking force that stood outside. His range of vision through the chakra shield was limited, but he estimated that there had to be close to a hundred shinobi camped out on the other side. He and his men had followed Orochimaru from one side of the dome to the other, and Itachi couldn't shake the feeling that their enemy was looking for something.

"Inspect the technique. I want to know if we can get through it."

Itachi's frustration mounted. Using hand signals, he directed his fighters to spread out along the barrier, searching for any possible way that they could shatter it. He heard more than one hiss of pain as several ANBU operatives attempted to use pure force to open a portal.

With each assault, the barrier vibrated and let out a long, sustained note.

_Interesting._

He tried weapons, to no avail. The barrier couldn't be punctured, couldn't be scratched, and couldn't be dug underneath. Every time a knife scraped along it, it made a tiny sound, like a mournful bell. Itachi knew full well that Orochimaru had managed to create something that rivalled the Susanoo. He suspected that Orochimaru had studied the Uchiha's highest defensive technique and applied it to his own jutsu once he'd stolen Fugaku's sharingan.

In other words, there was no way to break it unless Orochimaru was attacked. At the moment, Itachi didn't have the ability to attack the source directly, and that meant that he was unable to accomplish anything.

His chakra swirled angrily around his system, and he had to search for calm. Now wasn't the time to get frustrated. His quick mind ticked over possible permutations of the situation, but nothing would work.

He needed to find a solution to the problem, and fast.

"What am I missing?" He asked furiously, his mouth silently forming the words as he paced in a tight circle. His mangekyou was useless against the barrier, and he felt himself growing more and more anxious.

He wanted to be fighting with his allies, to actually do something useful. His mind refused to think about anything other than the fact that he was worried for Sakura.

_You must see everything, Itachi._

Fugaku's warning suddenly rang clearly through Itachi's thoughts, and he finally clued in.

He had something that Orochimaru wanted.

He hadn't checked Kabuto's body.

"Yamato, keep the fighters here. I've got an idea, but I need you to keep a force here," he said quietly, looking calmly into the expressionless mask that his ally wore.

"You're not going to do something stupid, are you?"

The reply was muffled through the mask, but Itachi didn't miss the slight disapproval in Yamato's tone. He laughed softly, allowing a small smirk to slide over his mouth.

"No, but I need to do it quietly. I'm going back to the village. When this dome comes down, and that might be in a minute or in an hour, your orders are to attack the enemy with no hesitation."

"Understood."

"Thank you. Good luck."

Without any hesitation, Itachi took off back towards the village gate. He glanced up at the dome one last time before quickly making his way through the crowds that milled frantically around the city. He was looking for the nearest entrance to the tunnels. He slipped silently through the door to an innocent-looking tea shop and nodded his greeting at the shop owner who stood in the doorway.

Without waiting for a question, Itachi turned so that the man caught a good look at his ANBU tattoo. The man stepped aside immediately, nodding at him as he swept past.

"Thank you for protecting us, ANBU-san."

"Don't thank me yet," Itachi murmured quietly, striding into the back storeroom and pulling up a tile from the floor. He quickly signed through a predetermined set of hand signs, releasing the sealing jutsu that kept the entrance to the underground tunnels hidden. The trapdoor opened, releasing a small cloud of dust as the dark hole that led downwards was revealed.

Itachi smoothly maneuvered himself through the portal, closing the trapdoor behind him. The tunnel was plunged into darkness once more as he dropped into the blackness.

He landed softly, his sharingan swirling rapidly across his inky irises as he looked calmly into the darkness that surrounded him. Satisfied that he was alone, he fed chakra into his eyes in order to see more clearly in the dark and unfurled the scroll that still held Kabuto's body.

As the smoke from the summoning cleared, he took a moment to look at the remains of what once was a tentative ally. Itachi silently thanked him, once again, for making it possible for Sasuke to be reanimated. Due to the sealing jutsu, Kabuto's body was still in perfect condition.

Not the for the first time (and certainly not for the last), he found himself very much impressed by Sakura's handiwork.

He inspected the corpse, thoroughly.

He let out a silent huff of frustration when he found nothing; the body didn't appear to have any secrets that he could uncover. Orochimaru's statement that Kabuto's body held something that he needed appeared to be a lie.

_Wait. His body doesn't have any chakra in it._

Glancing at the body out of the corner of his eye, he briefly clenched his jaw. He resented that he was down in a tunnel under the village, pawing a corpse that may or may not hold answers that could help them. He wanted to be on the surface, fighting by Sakura's side.

His emotions swirled in his stomach; a competing mixture between guilt and anticipation. He forced his thoughts away from Sakura; she'd released her jutsu, and that meant that short of taking on Orochimaru, she could handle anything that the test subjects sent her way.

He debated his next move, his mind whirring over what he was about to do. He could either destroy Kabuto's body with the secret intact, or he could use what was sealed inside Kabuto to undermine what Orochimaru had planned for Konoha.

Without making a conscious decision, he already knew what his next move would be. He had to know what had prompted Orochimaru to make the risky move of approaching Sasuke.

Kabuto's secret had to be valuable. There was no doubt about it; Orochimaru didn't make any decision without considering a million variables.

His mind flashed back to his frank discussion with Sakura after he'd released the Amaterasu, and he knew in his bones that she was going to be angry with him when he made his next decision. He immediately came up with a plan on the spot.

His intention was to barter Kabuto's body to the Sannin, in the hopes that it would buy them time to organize Konoha's defenses and deal with the casualties of the first attack. But first, he had to know what he was bartering with. He had to know that what Kabuto held inside his body.

In order for his plan to work, Sakura couldn't know about it. Her inability to keep her rioting emotions in check in moments of great stress was something that he was counting on. He ignored the twinge of guilt at the thought of Sakura; but if there was one thing that he was good at, it was doing what needed to be done.

He took a calming breath before gathering a small measure of chakra. Without any hesitation, he knelt down and activated the chakra transfer. Moving chakra into a corpse was harder than he'd expected; it was like trying to push against a solid wall. Patiently, carefully, he was able to force the chakra into Kabuto's cells. Watching Sakura work with medical chakra with his sharingan activated had come in useful after all.

Immediately, he could sense something pulsing in Kabuto's left arm. Moving slowly and carefully, to make sure that there would be no surprises, he drew his katana out of the sheath and made a small incision on Kabuto's arm. A sealed scroll slowly slipped out of the bloodless cut, landing on the floor with a thump.

Itachi's heartbeat increased as he reached out for the scroll, turning it around in his hands. It didn't look like anything special, but he knew better than to assume that it was nothing more than a sealed scroll that held Kabuto's shopping list.

He decided to go with his gut instincts; he needed blood.

Making a small cut on his finger, he dragged the resulting bead of blood across the seal of the scroll. He wasn't sure if it would work, but there was something instinctive that told him that the seal would respond to Uchiha DNA.

Orochimaru was nothing if not confident.

_If his plan worked and he needed the scroll, my money's on the fact that he would have counted on already having Fugaku's body._

The scroll immediately began to glow with red light as the sealing jutsu released. Itachi's satisfaction was marred by the confirmation that his suspicions had been correct. He quickly unrolled the scroll, his eyes widening as he read the contents.

The scroll held the jutsu that Orochimaru needed to seal the Nine-Tails inside him. But it also held another piece of information. It was written clear as day; he was after someone else too.

He let out a quiet oath; it was no louder than a whisper, but what it lacked in volume it made up for in ferocity.

Orochimaru hadn't only released the test subjects into the village to force the Nine-Tails to go on a rampage.

_He's counting on the fact that Tsunade will try to stop him. He doesn't just need Uchiha chakra._

His thoughts flashed to Sakura, and his stomach dropped. Tsunade would give her life trying to protect Sakura, and that was what Orochimaru was counting on. Hurriedly, he used his blood to make several amendments to the jutsu, hoping against all hope that it would affect the outcome.

The scroll hummed with chakra, absorbing his blood into the parchment and spinning into a new diagram. He read over it quickly, nodding with satisfaction as he noted that his amendments would prevent Orochimaru from succeeding in his goal.

_Only time will tell if it works._

He rerolled the scroll, turning to dart out of the tunnel system underneath the village where he'd taken refuge. Before he could leave, however, he heard the sound of standard-issue shinobi sandals.

_Why am I not surprised._

Orochimaru had grown sick of waiting for the Nine-Tails to be released; he'd sent soldiers into Konoha using the tunnels.

Itachi suddenly found himself grateful for the shadows that hid him. He extinguished his chakra signature and slipped deeper into the shade as at least four dozen enemy shinobi darted past the alcove where he'd secreted himself.

His jaw clenched as he took a steadying breath. His hands were moving before he'd even fully realized his plan. Kage puffed into his sightline, barely visible in the pitch black of the tunnel.

"Itachi-sama, your orders?"

"Take them down," Itachi said coldly; his tone deepened as he descended into the icy calm that he was infamous for. His sharingan flashed in the darkness as he strode after the intruders, determined to stop them before they were able to infiltrate the village.

"Leave no survivors. I'm not interested in restraining the mangekyou. Take half of your family and send them to search the surrounding tunnels, and the remainder will come with me to stop Orochimaru's men."

"Immediately, Itachi-sama," Kage replied, his wings flapping softly as he took to the air, leading a nearly invisible wave of crows towards the unwitting squad of ninja who continued into the labyrinth of tunnels underneath the village. Itachi picked up speed, his sharingan morphing into the spinning kaleidoscope of the mangekyou as he ran.

"Don't hold back."

Orochimaru's men didn't see the attack coming.

Itachi's mouth broke out into a cold smirk as the two forces collided; the tunnel erupted with movement. The stone echoed with the frantic scrambling and running of desperate men, who had unwittingly evoked the wrath of one of Konoha's strongest shinobi.

Itachi descended into the Tsukuyomi, determined to wring out any piece of information that he could out of Orochimaru's lackeys before he killed them.

Now wasn't the time for mercy.

It wasn't until the last body thudded lifelessly to the ground that he realized that he'd missed something important.

_Orochimaru, you brilliant bastard._  


	41. Frequencies Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Panic ensues as the Konoha defenders attempt to free themselves and attack Orochimaru.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited for this chapter. :D

Tsunade concentrated, placing her hands on the two dusty coffins that she was currently kneeling in front of.  They hummed as her chakra slowly enveloped them and then emitted a pulse of energy, indicating to her allies in the Shikkotsu forest that she was about to send something through.  With a loud pop, the two coffins disappeared, leaving behind nothing but the imprints in the dust where they had laid, undisturbed, for more than twenty years. 

She knew that she may have just done something very stupid, but at this point, she didn’t care.  No matter what happened to her, she wouldn’t allow Orochimaru to succeed in regaining everything that he thought he’d lost. 

_It’s time to assess the damage.  I can’t do anything more until that barrier comes down._

She raised her eyes to the ceiling, carefully tagging the fighters who were spread out above her head by identifying their chakra signatures.  She couldn’t ignore the way that her chest tightened as she did some calculations; there had to be hundreds of Konoha shinobi milling around above her. 

Tsunade knew that someone close to her was going to die in the battle; she could feel it in the marrow of her old bones.  Guilt twisted through her veins as she considered her role in sending the young, talented jonin to their deaths; as Hokage she controlled their fates. 

Indirectly, she was ordering them to die for their village; it wasn’t an autonomous choice when village loyalty was involved, and she hated that fact.   She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a long breath, trying desperately to quell the anxiety that threatened to overtake her ability to think properly. 

She glanced around the lab one last time, and her gaze slid over a group of abandoned test tubes.  She didn’t even have to walk over to the table where they sat to know that they were filled with old, contaminated blood.

Orochimaru knew how she felt about blood.  He knew that it made her freeze up when confronted with too much of it.  He knew full well how she would react to the murder of Konoha’s citizens.

It was a game to him. 

A new emotion welled up in her chest, and she quickly recognized it as fear.  Her instincts screamed at her to hide, to run away and hope that Orochimaru would give up on his prize.  She knew, more than anyone else alive, what he was capable of.   On that same note, she also knew how to play his game and tip the scales so that he couldn’t cheat. 

_Breathe._

Just as quickly as it had arrived, the fear ebbed away as it was replaced by quiet acceptance.  The faces of those that she loved flickered through her mind’s eye as she forced herself to concentrate on what really mattered. 

_Orochimaru wants me to be afraid; he’s counting on it.  Use your strength._

Her thoughts finally centered on the younger versions of Sakura and Shizune, and she let out a long, shaky breath as she directed her energy to their smiling faces in her mind’s eye.  Her mind continued to dredge up old memories, and her mouth split into a hesitant smile as she conjured an image of Jiraya. 

_I’m gonna make ya proud.  Believe that, ya old perv._

Tsunade bit her lip in a futile attempt to keep a wave of grief at bay; she knew without a doubt what her disciples and Jiraya would have wanted her to do. 

_Stand and fight.  Fight for everyone who can’t fight for themselves._

She concentrated once again, calling to a chakra reserve deep within her body that she hadn’t dared to access in years.  The seal on her forehead began to pulse violently until it split open, painting swaths of glowing chakra down the expanse of her arms and chest. 

She straightened up slowly, radiating power. 

_Sakura’s not the only one who’s using everything they know to win_ , she thought darkly, striding back towards the stairwell that led up to the surface level. 

_Orochimaru’s going to have to kill me to get to those coffins.  If I can distract him long enough to get his attention off of Sakura, Itachi, and Kakashi, they should be able to work together to ensure that the seal is finished.  He can’t get what he wants.  I won’t allow it._

Her powerful fist shot out, ramming with full force into the wall of the tunnel.  The rock began to crack, sending fissures along the length of the stone.  She ran, keeping pace with the damage, planting explosive tags at regular intervals.  As she ascended to the top of the stairs that hid Orochimaru’s lab, she blew on a final tag with chakra-infused breath, igniting it with a burst of flame, before sending her kunai with full force down into the darkness.

The flames lit up the kunai’s path for a few seconds; until Tsunade slammed the heavy iron door shut and braced her strength against the metal.  There was a thunderous explosion, and she forced more chakra into her muscles to hold the door closed against the inferno that burned in the remains of the lab and tunnel.  The ground shook violently, but she knew that it was far enough underground that no one was in danger of disappearing into a sinkhole. 

Orochimaru had ensured that the lab was far below the surface; no one could hear the screams that were the result of his experiments. 

Her communication device flared to life as she ascended into the remains of the archives building; she had returned to its range.  Itachi’s voice echoed out of the microphone as a huge black crow flapped into view.

_“Hokage-sama, I have something to speak with you about,”_ he said urgently, clearly nearing the edge of his patience.  She ignored the com and addressed the huge crow directly. 

“I’m here.  What did you find?”

The crow opened its mouth and Itachi’s quiet voice issued out of it.  _“First and foremost, there are enemy shinobi attempting to enter the village using the tunnels that lead in from the forest.  That was our immediate priority.”_

Tsunade swore quietly, her hand flying to her com as she flicked the dial to the frequency that Kakashi was using. 

_“That won’t be necessary, Hokage-sama.  They’ve been disposed of,”_ Itachi said calmly through the crow.  She stared at him for a split second before letting out a breathy laugh. The crow sported a brilliant, scarlet sharingan that spun lazily as she raised her gaze to meet it. 

“I should have known.  Kakashi and Ino are leading civilians towards the bunkers underneath the mountain, have they been compromised?”

_“No.  My crows are patrolling the tunnels, we’ll know immediately if more have attempted to breach the village.  Kakashi has already been alerted.”_

“Did you learn anything from the intruders?”

_“No.  They were pawns; Orochimaru didn’t tell them anything that was useful.  Their task was to drive a large portion of the fighting force underground.  The council members have also emerged from hiding.  They’re going to reseal the village as soon as the fighting force has driven Orochimaru into the forest.”_

Tsunade let out a quiet sigh, closing her eyes for a moment as she thought.  Her seal continued to thrum with power in her forehead, and she allowed it to continue flowing; she knew that whatever Itachi had to say, she wasn’t going to like. 

“Good, it’s about time they got off their asses and helped us.  What’s the second thing?”

_“Are you alone?”_   He asked abruptly, prompting her to scrunch her eyebrows together with concern. 

She glanced around her, searching for any chakra source.  With her augmented chakra levels, she could easily see any cloaked chakra.  There was nothing, and for that she was glad.  Itachi rarely gave in to concern, but she could hear just enough worry in his tone to alarm her. 

“Yes.  Spit it out, Itachi.  We don’t have a lot of time here,” she said urgently, waving at the crow to continue. 

Itachi sighed. 

“ _Your sealing jutsu has already been accounted for.  It won’t be enough to stop Orochimaru_.”

Tsunade’s blood ran cold and she clenched her fists.  “What do you know?”

“ _I didn’t realize it at first, but he has two kinds of chakra in his body.  The barrier is powered by his chakra, not my father’s, for the most part.  The most likely reason that he hasn’t consolidated the chakra and finished his takeover of the…vessel is that he expects that half of his chakra will be sealed_.”

Tsunade didn’t miss the split-second of hesitation in his statement. 

_He’s not as emotionless about the whole thing as I thought.  Hm._

“You think that he’s saving the Uchiha chakra for the sharingan.”

“ _Yes.  If he loses part of his chakra source, he can still power the sharingan without a massive cost to his power.  You are too powerful to ignore; I assume that’s why he let Sakura and I come and go from the hideout as we pleased.  He wanted us to succeed and let our guard down_.”

“Son of a bitch.”

_“As soon as we think that he’s been defeated, he will attack us again and catch us unawares.  The two chakras are working independently from one another;”_ Itachi continued solemnly, _“Sakura experienced the same kind of chakra source separation when she was interrogated by my father.”_

“Of course, Orochimaru somehow manages to outthink me before I’ve even come up with an idea!”  Tsunade growled, crossing her arms.  The chakra that flowed around her body accelerated with her heartrate, and she forced herself to calm down.  It wouldn’t do anyone on this side of the barrier any good for her to lose her cool. 

“ _It’s his jutsu_ ,” Itachi said bluntly, commanding the crow to shrug as if he’d just told her the weather forecast.  Tsunade stared at him incredulously for a second before letting out a short bark of a laugh.

There was no mirth in the sound. 

“If I have to seal him twice, I will.  Find a way to bring this barrier down, Itachi.  All we need is a shot at him, and then we’ll take it from there.”

“ _Sakura will destroy it_ ,” Itachi murmured, his tone lightening slightly.  She knew him well enough to know that a small smile was playing around the corners of his mouth.  She smirked at him, turning on her heel and darting out of the archives vault. 

Tsunade shot into the air, running along the rooftops with enough speed that anyone who passed her would only see a blur.  She ran up the side of the Hokage tower and surveyed the village with dismay. 

_Naruto, what the hell are you doing?!_

She slammed her finger to her com, trying her damn hardest to ignore the ice that wound through her veins.  The chakra that flowed from her seal didn’t just affect her physically; she was easier to anger, easier to provoke. 

“Kakashi, you’d better have some good news for me.”

_“Itachi’s intel was good,”_ Kakashi replied, and she could hear his shrug in the tone of his voice. _“The threat from below is neutralized.”_

“If they can get soldiers in, we can get soldiers out.  Make it happen.”

_“Already on it, Hokage-sama.”_

“Have we still got a plan?”  She asked quietly, signing with one hand as she spoke.  A dozen slugs appeared at her feet, and she looked down at them with affection as Kakashi continued to report. 

_“Yes.  Asuma and I will attack his forces as planned.  Sakura has agreed not to interfere.  They’re going to need strong backup.”_

“Good.  We’re going to have two chakra sources to seal.  It’s up to us to make sure that Itachi, Neji, and Sakura can get close enough to destroy the second one.  I’ll be sending out the weapons that we discussed when the time is right.”

_“You think it can take out Orochimaru’s chakra?”_

“Potentially; at the very least it’ll weaken him.  In the meantime, run support for Gaara and Naruto.  We can salvage this idiotic plan if we’ve got enough backing to stop the enemy when this goes sideways.”

_“The force from Suna is fighting outside the barrier; Orochimaru’ll have a fight on two fronts soon enough,”_ Kakashi replied darkly, and she felt a cold smile sliding over her mouth.

“Good.”

She took her hand off the com and knelt down to the slugs.  They slowly scooted towards her outstretched hands, and she let chakra flow into their bodies.  With one hand, she began to direct their physical forms around the village. 

“Find anyone who is injured and use the chakra to summon more of your siblings.  I need all of the help that you can muster,” she ordered softly, grinning as the tiny creatures began to work their magic on Konoha’s already tiring shinobi.  One by one, they disappeared with a loud pop and a puff of smoke, reappearing around the village as needed. 

Chakra radiated off Tsunade’s skin like a miasma, and she raised her head to glare at the barrier as she began to heal as many shinobi as she could from a distance.  Years of practice allowed her to split her focus and multi-task, but the damage to the hospital staff alone was staggering.   She needed help; without her prompting them the slugs responded to her chakra flow and began to shimmer and multiply, making their slow, determined way across the scores of injured people around the hospital. 

Tsunade settled into a cross-legged position and directed her full attention to those who needed immediate medical intervention.

 In the back of her mind, she was silently ticking over how much chakra the sealing jutsu was going to take; but as she became aware of the horrific damage that the test subjects had managed to inflict on those who weren’t fast enough to escape their grasp, her concern for her own life began to shrink with each passing second.

_I don’t care if I die.  If I have to sacrifice myself, then so be it. The least I can do is give the others a chance._

_Now’s as good of a time as ever to use the one weapon that Orochimaru won’t see coming._

She reached into her back pocket and withdrew a large vial that contained a solution of her chakra mixed with the crystal fragments that she’d removed from Fugaku’s body.  The viscous mixture filled her with mixed feelings; dread and worry swirled through her stomach as she surveyed the goop in the glass bottle.

Without waiting for her anxiety to get the best of her, she signed quickly over the vial and uncorked it, allowing the odd mixture to pool on the roof in front of her.  Immediately, her chakra began to vibrate as she moved her hands from top to bottom and side to side, compressing and shaping the energy into three chakra blades that shimmered with power. 

_How about a taste of your own medicine,_ she thought darkly, scrutinizing the weapons with an expert eye.

A sealing scroll followed the vial out of her pocket, and she carefully sealed two of the blades into the jutsu.  With a pulse of chakra, she summoned a small slug and held it out to her. 

“Hi Ringo.  Can you get these to Naruto and Sasuke?  They’ll need them to pin Orochimaru down.”

The tiny creature puffed up and delicately plucked the scroll from Tsunade’s offered hand.  “Yes, Tsunade-sama, I’ll make sure that they get it!”

“Thank you,” Tsunade sighed.  She forcibly squashed her worry and tried to rearrange her features into a smile, “That’s really helpful.”

“Tsunade-sama, can I ask you something?”  Ringo asked hesitantly, somehow able to convey a sense of timidity by the way that she scrunched up her small, slimy body.

“Yeah, sure,” Tsunade replied distractedly; her gaze was taken up by a wave of shinobi who were making their way out of the city gates and towards the perimeter where the barrier rested. 

She knew that Kakashi and Shikamaru had deployed their squadrons; they were preparing for when the dome disappeared.  This was a good sign.   They had to know which of the tunnels travelled under the prison.

“Is Sakura-san going to be okay?”

Ringo’s question snapped Tsunade back to attention, and she glanced at the tiny slug with wide, terrified eyes.  Her stomach rioted with worry, and a small trickle of fear had firmly taken root behind her knees.  She wasn’t accustomed to feeling weak, but she couldn’t deny that the possibility that Sakura might not survive was something that she hadn’t allowed herself to entertain.  

“Has something happened?!”

“No, but I’m worried that she’s not going to be okay,” Ringo replied sadly, still clutching the scroll with trembling appendages.  Her bulbous eyes were looking directly at Tsunade with such distress that she felt her heart twist with pity. 

“I taught her everything that I know,” Tsunade replied, hoping against all hope that she sounded more confident than she felt, “She’ll be fine.”

_She has to be._

* * *

 

Orochimaru paced on top of Manda’s head, his boots made a strange, cacophonous clicking sound across the giant snake’s scales as he pivoted and whirled back to face the trapped village.  His gaze flicked back and forth over the barrier that enclosed Konoha, and he let out a small chuckle of dark amusement as he watched the pathetic shinobi inside attempt to pierce it with weapons.  The dome vibrated gently under the force of the blows, and he cocked his head to the side and sighed with pleasure as the air filled with the sounds of their frantic attempts to escape. 

_My plan will take effect soon enough._

“Orochimaru-sama, are you going to make me wait forever?”  Manda hissed, fidgeting impatiently as Orochimaru pressed one booted foot down in the giant ridge behind his eyes. 

“Patience, patience,” Orochimaru murmured, watching intently over his shoulder as the Suna fighters attempted to fight off his troops.  “All that we have to do is wait until their chakra is depleted.  My little assassins will take care of most of the problem on the inside, and we will walk right in.”

“You underestimate Tsunade,” Manda snapped, flicking his tongue out to taste the air.  “She’s activated her seal.”

“Sealing my chakra won’t do her any good,”  Orochimaru bit out in response, narrowing his eyes and pressing a little harder into the sensitive skin between Manda’s eye ridges.  The snake forcibly muffled a growl of annoyance and rose a little higher into the air, allowing Orochimaru to see past the dome and towards the Hokage Mountain. 

“Her precious fighters will do all of my work for me,” Orochimaru continued, crossing Fugaku’s strong arms and narrowing his eyes.  It took some effort, but he was starting to get the hang of activating the sharingan.  He knew that he could figure out how to use the mangekyou; but he needed the time that the barrier was affording him.  It was strange, the way that the chakra that he directed towards Fugaku’s eyes seemed to resist his efforts. 

He squashed a flash of annoyance and allowed the sharingan to ebb away from Fugaku’s eyes. 

“You’re going to go after that girl, aren’t you?”

“We have a score to settle,” Orochimaru murmured, shrugging.  “It’s her fault that her friends are dying right now.”

“What does that mean?”  Manda asked grumpily, surveying the battle with distaste. 

“She should have been more careful about what she shared with me; it’s her own fault that she chose the wrong side.”

“Why didn’t you just kill her?”

He laughed.  “Do you honestly think that I would have put up with her if she didn’t serve a higher purpose?  She will allow me to win this fight, mark my words.”

“Whatever you’re doing, do it quickly.  Just as the Konoha ninja are depleting their chakra, so are your troops,” Manda reminded him darkly, hissing softly as the scent of smoke drifted their way from the fight on the ground. 

“Let them die.  They made their choice,” Orochimaru said simply; his mismatched eyes swept over the barrier, assessing the situation.  “Let Tsunade try to outsmart me, she’ll just be sealing her own fate.”

_Tick tock, Tsunade._

His smile widened as he caught sight of what he was waiting for; the test subjects moved towards the barrier in a furious wave, pursuing the Nine-Tails.  While he was surprised that they hadn’t managed to free the beast yet, it was just a matter of time.

His plan had accounted for this possibility; he always had a contingency plan in place. 

He activated the second jutsu that he’d planned for by opening a large vein in Fugaku’s arm with his teeth.  He ignored the pain; it was nothing compared to what he’d suffered while his previous body had rotted from the inside out.  

His hands flew through several signs, priming the barrier for the next stage of his plan.  The internal structure of the dome began to vibrate with chakra as its purpose shifted slightly. 

“Manda, forward,” he demanded, bracing his legs as Manda obligingly swept his long, sinuous body towards the barrier.  Orochimaru pressed a hand up against it, projecting chakra through his palm. 

Not a moment too soon, he withdrew his hand and directed Manda to move backwards.  His heartbeat accelerated with a mixture of anticipation, excitement, and impatience as nearly a hundred armored creatures made their furious, thundering way towards his trap. 

He clasped his hands together and made a sound that was so coated in glee that Manda nearly rolled his eyes. 

“Soon, we will have complete control,” Orochimaru breathed; his eyes widened and a maniacal smile slid across his wide mouth as he faced the looming threat. 

* * *

 

Itachi opened his eyes.  His sharingan spun wildly as he thought.  His crows still patrolled the tunnels under the city, and he allowed himself a moment to reflect as he considered his next move. 

His eyebrows shot upwards as he considered something else that he’d forgotten about.  He turned to look over his shoulder at the bodies of Orochimaru’s soldiers and frowned in thought.

_I wonder how many of them were part of the Raiton ruse.  They fought like Mist shinobi; there might have been a connection between them and Nawa._

The corner of his mouth turned up in a small smile as he bent down to remove one sandal from the corpse closest to him.  He was well aware of the fact that he’d made fun of Sakura for doing the exact same thing months ago. 

Sure enough, a small brand shaped like a bolt of lightning was visible in the darkness; his sharingan spun slowly as he sat back on his haunches, mulling over a theory.

The bodies pulsed faintly with a hidden source of chakra, forcing him to consider the possibility that the men that he’d killed served another purpose on top of infiltration; they might not have known that they were being used. 

Finally, he sighed and decided to bite the bullet.  Withdrawing a kunai from his weapons pouch, he tipped the corpse’s head back and examined the teeth.  After a moment of careful searching, he found what he was looking for.

_Ah.  There it is. They were suicide bombers._

Slowly, gingerly, he edged the tip of the kunai into the gums of the dead shinobi, wincing as the resulting spill of blood gurgled down the man’s esophagus.  After several long moments of inflicting deliberate pressure and gentle wiggling, he managed to extract a pulsing chakra capsule disguised as a tooth from the man’s upper left quadrant.   He absentmindedly wiped the blood and tissue from the tablet, humming a soft sound of satisfaction as his eyes raked over the tiny tomoe etched into the porcelain surface of the fake tooth.

“Looks like you accidentally gave us an advantage, Orochimaru,” Itachi murmured, inspecting the capsule carefully with his sharingan.  He held it between his forefinger and thumb, carefully prodding at the sculpted pill with his chakra; it didn’t act like it was about to explode, but he wasn’t going to discount its firepower.

_Last time I encountered one of these it nearly blew me apart_ , he thought drily, carefully pocketing the item and moving onto the next body.  It flickered faintly with chakra, same as his companions did, and Itachi felt a small, satisfied smirk slide over his mouth.  At least a quarter of the fifty fighters gave off the same frequencies; odds were good that he would be able to collect several more chakra bombs.    

Every advantage would prove itself useful.  He had no doubt that using the explosive chakra burst contained within the pills might be the ticket that allowed Naruto and Sasuke to get close enough to Orochimaru to seal his chakra, for good.

He and Sakura would take care of the rest.  Itachi made quick work of the other bodies; in the end, he was able to gather seven chakra capsules in total.  He paused for a moment to seal them away and straightened up, tightening his headband out of habit as he did so.

The weight of it was familiar and comforting, and he brushed his fingers over the engraving that marked him as a Konoha shinobi. 

_Move quickly, before you lose your chance._

He strode back towards the surface, pausing as the sound of thundering, armoured feet passed somewhere above him. 

_What..?_

His heart dropped as he considered what could be happening above ground.  His thoughts jumped immediately to Sakura, and he forced himself to take a deep, steadying breath. 

He projected his sharingan above ground into a crow clone who flapped lazily over the outskirts of the village; it had finished its patrols of the tunnels and was now keeping an eye on the fight from above.  The bird’s eyes narrowed as he caught sight of a strange sand tunnel; it moved and swirled into strange shapes as something within it fought to escape its grasp.  Choji Akimichi was using his powerful body and chakra-enhanced strength to prevent anyone from travelling back up the tunnel.

_Uzumaki.   I should have known._

 Itachi nearly let out a huff of frustration as his bird focused on Naruto, who was using clones to drive the mutated test subjects out of the village and towards the barrier. 

_What the hell is he doing?_

The bird watched silently as the test subjects moved quickly towards the barricade, herded along by the endless line of shadow clones who taunted them from outside of the rapidly shifting sand highway.

_Gaara.  You’d better have a good reason for going against the plan. Where’s Juugo?_

He spotted Sakura, running along the top of the sand tunnel about two hundred feet behind Naruto.  Her hair flew around her shoulders as she glanced upwards.  He wasn’t surprised that she had spotted his crow, and she raised her hands to her mouth and called upwards to him. 

“Itachi, we need you up here!  Naruto’s leading the test subjects towards the barrier, but I’m afraid that he and Gaara won’t be able to contain them!”

Itachi’s crow dove towards her, keeping pace as she jumped down to street level.  He couldn’t help his small grin as she shattered the concrete beneath her feet as she ran.  Chakra blazed out of every pore of her body, and he was impressed.

_She was right when she said that she wouldn’t stop surprising me._

The bird clone clicked its beak.

_“Why did he lead them out of the hospital?”_

“There were too many of them, people were dying.  He’s trying to help, Itachi,” she replied lowly, increasing her speed. 

_“Why is Gaara helping him?”_

“They’re trying to attack the barrier directly!  Things are going to get very bad if we can’t take it down.  We need time that we don’t have-”

That’s when an idea occurred to Itachi, and his body’s eyes snapped open.  He let out a breath that was half a laugh and half a sigh.

_“I have to take care of something,”_ he said abruptly, commanding the crow to slow its pace.  She slowed to a stop and glared at the corvid who hovered in the air behind her.

“Oh, no, no, no.  Itachi, don’t you dare do anything stupid.”

He smirked, regarding her through the bird’s eyes with his sharingan.  _“I won’t.  Be careful.”_

She let out a small, disbelieving laugh and glanced over her shoulder towards the barrier.  “I need you here, with me.”

_“I’ll join you in a few minutes.”_

“What are you going to do?”  She asked slowly, her bright eyes raking over the crow.  He didn’t miss the way that she bit her lip with concern and the way that her eyes narrowed as she tried to predict what he would do next. 

“ _Testing a theory.  Orochimaru has to have a weakness.  I’ll buy you some time,”_ Itachi said simply, turning on his heel and darting upwards.  He concentrated and dredged up another measure of chakra. 

“Itachi-“

_“Save as much strength as you can.  Be safe.  I’ll find you when I’m finished.”_

“Don’t put yourself in danger-“

“ _It’s worth it to keep you out of danger_ ,” he replied bluntly, flapping away without another word.  He heard her growl of frustration loud and clear, and it was with no small measure of guilt that he continued on his way. 

His physical body settled into a meditative position, and he concentrated fully, sending as much chakra as he could safely muster into his eyes.  Itachi’s hands flew through several hand signs, activating and reactivating his sealing jutsu at precisely timed intervals.  The bird flew straight towards the dome, showing no signs of slowing down.  A split second before the crow hit the barrier, it disappeared in a puff of smoke. 

Two long seconds later, it reappeared on the other side, hopping around on the ground and cawing loudly in triumph.  Itachi let out a long sigh of relief, directing his energy towards tempering the rush of triumph that wove through his veins; his idea had been successful, but it was far too early to be celebrating. 

_Hm.  If I can manifest a clone outside of the barrier, than others can too_. _It doesn’t affect long-distance chakra activation._

He paused for a moment and directed his consciousness back to his real body.  Itachi quickly relayed the information over the coms to Kakashi, who was understandably both shocked and pleased by the news. 

_“Move carefully, Uchiha,”_ Kakashi said sternly; his tone was businesslike and self-assured. 

“Understood.”

_“Can you get close to Orochimaru?”_

“I should be able to, yes.  My fighting force is primed to attack as soon as the barrier comes down.”

_“Can you affect his ability to keep the dome activated?”_

“Yes,” Itachi replied bluntly, narrowing his eyes and directing the crow to take flight and ascend to the top of the dome.  “Theoretically, I should be able to stop him without lifting a finger.”

_“Even knowing how good you are, I’ll believe that when I see it,”_ Kakashi said drily, chuckling softly as Itachi cracked a small smirk. 

“Give me ten minutes.”

_“Good luck.”_

Itachi activated his mangekyou, directing the crow to fly directly towards Orochimaru, who stood in plain sight, inviting the attacks of anyone who was stupid enough to try to take him head-on.   He mulled over his options and finally settled on a plan that was a little less direct than he usually preferred. 

_If I allow myself to get angry, I’ll do something stupid and walk right into a trap._

He had no intention of fighting Orochimaru face-to-face.  With his sharingan abilities, he wouldn’t have to. 

But first, he needed a distraction.  With another smear of blood, another crow joined the first, ascending quickly into the air far above the battle. 

Itachi had heard on the coms that Shikamaru had been in contact with Temari and Kankuro, so he quickly flicked the dial to the frequency that had the farthest range and spoke quietly into the microphone.

“Kankuro, it’s Itachi.  Do you read me?”

The response was immediate. 

_“Hey, Uchiha.  Whaddya need?”_

“Can you engineer a small explosion at the base of the barrier? I need a distraction to get close to Orochimaru.”

_“Peh, who do you think you’re talkin’ to? Hell yeah I can.”_

“Fire off a practice round into the dome,”  Itachi asked urgently, curious to see if Kankuro could get through the barrier on the first try. 

He knew that it was a risk to attack Orochimaru this early when there was no support from the inside, but he was in the habit of covering all of his bases; it was a calculated risk, one that could only expedite his plan to stop Orochimaru if Kankuro’s explosive failed. 

Itachi had barely taken his finger off of the transmission button when his crow clone was buffeted with a sudden gust of wind; a large explosion had been levelled at the dome, forcing a concussion blast through the air. 

One of Kankuro’s largest puppets had opened its cavernous mouth and released a missile that had carried enough firepower to level a large building.  As the smoke cleared, Itachi wasn’t terribly surprised to see that the barrier hadn’t been damaged in the slightest.  The dome rang out with a note that nearly made him flinch with discomfort; it was almost a scream.   If he didn’t know any better, he would have thought that the dome was somehow alive. 

There wasn’t any physical damage to the structure, but Itachi couldn’t shake the feeling that he may have stumbled across the solution to cracking the dome.  Sound waves still travelled through the air, shooting vibrations through the earth and shaking Itachi’s physical body along with the tunnel where he sat.

He opened his eyes, pulling his vision from the crow clone.  His hand flew up to his radio, and his mind whirled as he considered the new information. 

“Kakashi, is there any way to shatter the barrier using sound?”  He asked quietly, waiting impatiently for the answer as a long minute passed. 

“ _I don’t know_ ,” Kakashi finally replied; his tone was careful, he didn’t seem to be too willing to bet on the possibility.  Itachi didn’t blame him; the amount of chakra and earth-release technique-using shinobi that it would take to bring the dome down could severely affect Konoha’s ability to defend itself in open combat. 

“We don’t need to take down the whole dome, just enough to get forces out.”

Kakashi let out a soft “ah” of understanding.  _“Smart.  We can control who comes in if the entry point is small.  Let me find out who I’ve got who can use-“_

“We don’t have time for that,” Itachi interrupted him sharply, glancing upwards as the booted feet above his head increased their pace.  “We can’t afford to drag this out.  With every passing second our fighters get weaker.  Anyone working to collapse the dome other than Sakura’s team needs to stand down.”

_“Yeah, I agree with Uchiha.”_

A third, unexpected voice abruptly joined the conversation, prompting Itachi to raise one eyebrow in surprise. 

“Shikamaru, glad you’re still with us,” he greeted quietly; his tone softened immediately as he relaxed slightly. 

_Good.  We need all the tacticians that we can muster._

_“It got pretty hairy there for a bit,”_ Shikamaru replied grumpily, clearly already exhausted and strung out from fighting against the mutants in the hospital.  _“Naruto’s crazy plan to use the test subjects might work if they can direct their attacks at the jutsu.”_

“Sakura’s already on it.  I’m going after Orochimaru directly.  If they don’t already know about the vibrations from the barrier, tell them.”

_“Will do,”_ Shikamaru muttered.  Itachi didn’t need to see his face to know that he was wearing a frown and was scratching his head with thinly concealed irritation.  _“How troublesome. Finish the fight early, would ya?”_

“Thank you.  I’m glad you’re alive, Nara,” Itachi said honestly.  He braced himself for the strange rush of motion sickness that always accompanied his mental jump into a crow clone; but he paused when Kakashi’s voice crackled over the com once more. 

_“Uchiha, where are your clan fighters?”_   Kakashi asked suddenly; his tone barely concealed his concern.  Itachi felt a rush of satisfaction; he wasn’t worried at all.

“They’ll fight with us.  I’ve asked an old friend to ensure that Sasuke takes the leadership role,” he replied smugly, trying and failing to squash down the flicker of pride that flared to life in his chest. 

_“About time,”_ Kakashi replied, _“Do what needs to be done.  Report as soon as you’re able to.”_

“Understood,” Itachi replied.  He flitted back into his clone, readying his sharingan for the inevitable confrontation with the Sannin. 

The bomb had been very effective (it was obvious to Itachi that Kankuro hadn’t aimed at anything or anyone in particular), and brilliant in its destruction.  The ground around the barrier had been torn apart from the blast, and the smoke that drifted upwards from the destruction obscured enough of the battlefield to cause mass confusion.

On the bright side, Kankuro had also managed to severely injure dozens of Orochimaru’s fighting force, and Itachi couldn’t deny the flicker of dark glee that had flared to life in his chest. 

_Why’d you wait that long to pull that out?_   He thought wryly, huffing out a silent, exasperated sigh. 

“Thanks, Kankuro.  I need one more,” he said lowly, directing the crow clone to blink smoke out of its eyes as it flapped straight towards where Orochimaru had been standing.

_“Here ya go,”_ Kankuro chuckled, whooping with triumph as another explosion rocked the earth, shooting more debris into the air.  _“You’re welcome, by the way, Uchiha.”_

Itachi turned his attention back to Orochimaru, preparing himself for the confrontation.  His lungs suddenly gave a small spasm, and he pressed a hand to his ribs, concerned.

_I used too much of my chakra on the Amaterasu.  My chakra is nearly halfway depleted; my body hasn’t had a chance to recover._

_I don’t have time to deal with this._

He knew, logically, that what he was about to do could have been considered reckless, but he wasn’t in the mood to calculate probabilities; there was too much on the line, he had to do something.  It didn’t matter that his body was rebelling against his overuse of chakra; he would deal with that later. 

He reached into his pocket, popped the cap on a small bottle, and quickly ate a soldier pill.  He disliked the crash that accompanied their use, but he didn’t feel that he had another choice; the stakes were too high to leave anything to chance or sheer dumb luck.

The immediate flash of chakra was enough to boost his system, and he took a calming breath before directing his attention back to the spot where Orochimaru had been perched on top of Manda seconds before the explosion. 

His mouth slid into a slow smirk as he absorbed a new development. 

_His familiar isn’t very loyal.  That’s interesting._

Orochimaru’s snake had disappeared to save itself, leaving Orochimaru in the dirt without the advantage of the higher ground. 

Itachi directed the corvid clone to fly straight at Orochimaru, who had dropped into a defensive stance and was watching Suna’s forces with murder in his mismatched eyes.  He was glaring in Kankuro’s direction, clearly screaming at his fighters to destroy every last Suna soldier.   Those who weren’t currently engaged with the Suna squads had hung back, clearly intent on protecting the man who’d hired them.  There were dozens of them, but it wasn’t enough to deter Itachi. 

All that he needed was an opening.

_So many lives wasted,_ Itachi thought sullenly, instructing his crow to increase its speed.

Distantly, Itachi could hear Kankuro relaying more information over the coms; Orochimaru had reinforcements arriving from the West, and they were coming in _fast_.

Itachi wasn’t one to miss an opportunity.  All that he had to do was get into Orochimaru’s sightline.  The Sannin saw him coming, but he wasn’t quite fast enough to thwart Itachi’s attack. 

“Kill the crow!”  He snapped, gesturing wildly.

The tell-tale whistle of projectiles cut through the air, but it didn’t matter. 

“If you meet its eye, you’re as good as dead.  If you disobey me and let it past, your lives are forfeit,” Orochimaru stated coldly, prompting several fighters to run towards him at full speed, clearly desperate to ensure that he wouldn’t turn on them.  They immediately closed ranks and hurled a wave of razor sharp knives at Itachi’s distraction. 

The crow spun in midair, avoiding the kunai that were flung at him with ease. 

Itachi smirked as Orochimaru’s annoyed gaze had no choice but to settle on the huge corvid who hung in the middle of his sightline.  He couldn’t deny himself the opportunity to outsmart Orochimaru, so he began to sign, quickly and precisely. 

The crow disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Orochimaru to glance wildly around him with confusion.  He spun around, hair flying, until his gaze finally settled on the four shadow clones who had suddenly appeared fifty feet from him.  Itachi’s scarlet gaze bore into his opponents, prompting them to shift slightly with discomfort. 

The soldiers who were guarding the Sannin immediately adopted the classic Manji formation, creating a human barricade between Itachi and his prey. 

They presented no challenge, given that they’d already made the mistake of looking directly at the crow clone.

_Too late._

Itachi let them finish their formation before slowly waving a nonchalant hand and breaking his genjutsu.  The men crumpled to the ground without a sound; their eyes were already glassy and unseeing as their still-warm bodies hit the ground.  He’d already disposed of them.

Scarlet blood began to spread across the ground, soaking into the dirt and creating a sticky, macabre slew.  The metallic tang of it swam through the air, and Itachi caught the flash of alarm that passed over Fugaku’s waxy face as the Sannin realized what was happening.  His nostrils flared and he took a half-step backwards, as if preparing to run.

 Itachi wasn’t in the mood to drag the fight out; he’d come to win.  Without any hesitation, he made his move and put his plan in motion.

Orochimaru’s eyes narrowed as he directed his gaze onto the centre of Itachi’s body armour, and Itachi let the corner of his mouth turn up in a nearly imperceptible smirk. 

_That’s not a bad plan.  He hasn’t got full control of the mangekyou yet; he’s making the smart move.  He can’t hope to take me on directly._

_I’m tired of the games._

As one, he directed his clones to unsheathe their katanas and move towards him as a wave.  Orochimaru clearly wasn’t concerned, which was the opening that Itachi was looking for. 

As Orochimaru smoothly spun and forced Fugaku’s powerful body into a flawless roundhouse kick (destroying one clone with ease), Itachi directed the other three to throw their katanas from a distance, forming a shimmering, reflective surface that merged into a six inch tall mirror as they passed one another to reveal the reflection of Itachi’s swirling mangekyou.

The fifth clone that stood directly behind Orochimaru emerged silently from the genjutsu that concealed him.  His eyes glittered with triumph, and the whirling kekkei genkai bore into Orochimaru’s mismatched, bloodshot stare.    

Orochimaru’s jaw dropped as his gaze met Itachi’s.  The Uchiha’s expression was impassive; he wasn’t quite ready to celebrate. 

His body throbbed with a dull ache again as his system began to struggle with the chakra stream necessary to keep fighting at a distance; if he was going to be effective, he had to act _now_ , before he ran out of steam. 

The clones disappeared as Orochimaru’s body suddenly stiffened.  He stood frozen to the spot as his commanders milled towards him, trying frantically to get his attention as his blank gaze stared at nothing. 

_You’re mine._

* * *

 

Sakura held her breath and forced herself to stand rigidly by as Naruto’s clones grouped in front of the barrier.  Every single part of her wanted to run up to them and shake some sense into the real one, but she was terrified that any kind of distraction would derail the already too-fragile plan that they had in place.

_Let them hit the dome, then match the frequency.  That’s all that you have to do-oh shit!_

She flinched as more of the test subjects thundered past her, unable to keep her survival instincts at bay.  Sakura was outside of the sand tunnel, but that certainly didn’t mean that she felt safe.  She watched with thinly concealed worry as Gaara nimbly hopped along the surface of the rapidly shifting particles, seamlessly patching and strengthening any portion of the tunnel that had taken too much damage from the mutants who had been distracted from Naruto’s chakra by Gaara’s. 

“Come-“

“-on-“

“-you-“

“-dumb-“

“-asses!”

Naruto’s clones yelled all at once, causing such a cacophonous racket that Sakura couldn’t ignore her flash of annoyance. 

“They don’t have a choice, Naruto- wah!”  She began, ducking as a huge, chakra-enhanced claw broke through the sand shield and made a swipe at her.  Her squawk of surprise and panic rang through the clearing as the monster two feet from her snarled with rage. 

She spun into a frantic half-turn, pivoting out of range.  The chakra that sped through her veins made her movement faster, and she directed her momentum to carry her upwards, on top of a large stone ridge.  

She landed softly, turning as she caught a flash of a Hyuuga chakra signature, moving quickly towards her.

“Focus!”  Neji called, running along the top of the sand at full speed.  Hinata and Hinabi followed close behind, watching the dome carefully with their vibrant, pale-purple eyes. 

“Neji!”

“That’s the last of  them, you’d better hurry, Naruto,” Neji continued, gesturing gracefully back towards the hospital, two full miles away, “They’re all stuck in the tunnel here, Chouji’s guarding the other end to make sure that they don’t turn around.”

“Right!”  Naruto hollered, concentrating and producing a dozen more clones.  They all blazed with the Nine-Tail’s chakra, and Sakura couldn’t help that her jaw flapped open at the sight. 

_If Orochimaru gets a hold of that, we’re all done for.  Wow._

“Drop the sand!” 

Sakura barely managed to get her order out, still too awestruck by the amount of chakra that Naruto was throwing around.  Clearly, the test subjects agreed; their frantic attempts to escape the sand prison intensified exponentially, and Sakura was forced to throw an arm up to shield her eyes as the sand on one side of the gigantic tunnel exploded outwards.

The clones danced from side to side, taunting the furious monsters who sped towards the barrier with lethal force, bristling with claws and teeth that could tear a grown man to shreds. 

Sakura flinched as the two forces collided.

Naruto’s clones disappeared at the last second, too late for the monsters to pull their attacks and redirect their attentions. 

The test subjects hit the barrier as a wave, driving the full force of their rage into the surface of the jutsu.  The dome trembled from the powerful blows, vibrating ever faster as the effect of the offensive attack ebbed away.   The impact was enough to send a concussion blast shooting through the air, and Sakura threw her arms up again to protect her face as she was buffeted by the powerful wave of energy. 

The shimmering blockade let out a high-pitched screech as its structure was attacked, and Sakura felt a shudder of discomfort shoot down her spine at the eerie sound.  She glanced at Naruto, whose full attention was centered on the dome.  He glanced in her direction; his bright blue eyes were dark with concern. 

Nothing was happening to the dome.

They shared a meaningful look, and she allowed chakra to bloom over her body, hardening into a layer of armor. 

She didn’t want to be caught by surprise if the test subjects decided that they would rather fight the Nine-Tails directly.  The Hyuugas stood silently behind them, watching their backs with the byakugan.

They waited for a few long seconds, until Sakura realized that the test subjects hadn’t moved away from the dome.  She fed chakra into her eyes to sharpen her vision, and that’s when her heart leapt into her throat. 

“Sakura, we’ve got a problem,” Neji said sharply in warning as the sisters let out sharp gasps of confusion and dismay. 

* * *

 

Itachi smoothly descended into the shadow world, striding confidently across the endless pool of water underneath his feet.  He’d constructed it this time to leave Orochimaru somewhat free to move around; it served his purposes to allow the Sannin just enough freedom that he underestimated Itachi. 

Although he was quite assuredly insane, Orochimaru could be counted on to discount his enemies’ abilities.  Itachi intended to make good use of that character flaw. 

“I think that it’s past time we had a chat.”

His soft remark echoed loudly through the prismatic prison, disguising his actual position in the endless nothingness. 

Orochimaru snarled, spinning around in a frantic circle as he clued into where he was.  He stopped abruptly, and a slow grin spread over his thin mouth.  Orochimaru’s cold, maniacal laugh sent a bolt of fury through Itachi’s veins, and he clenched his jaw in an effort to keep himself focused. 

“Brilliant!”  Orochimaru cackled, clapping his hands mockingly as he stared into the darkness with a face that was half his own and half Fugaku’s.  “Itachi, you really are a force to be reckoned with.”

Itachi didn’t reply, which just made Orochimaru grin even more widely. 

“Are you sure that I can’t persuade you to switch sides?”  The Sannin purred, his gaze snapping onto the spot where Itachi was standing silently, invisible.  Shisui’s sharingan spun slowly, revealing to Itachi just how much control Orochimaru already had over the ocular kekkei genkai.

“I’m not in the mood for games,” Itachi answered softly, stepping into a fragment of light that shone into the Tsukuyomi, shattering the crushing darkness of the shadow world, “I think you’d be wise to listen.”

“Go on then,” Orochimaru murmured, watching Itachi with a glint of what he took to be respect in his slitted eye. 

“I have Kabuto’s body,” Itachi said bluntly, directing his spinning sharingan towards the shadow-form of Orochimaru. “I’m willing to give it to you.”

“You want to barter his body for Konoha?”

 Orochimaru’s immediate laugh was high and cold; it would have made Itachi’s skin crawl if he was in his physical body. 

Itachi said nothing, waiting for the right opportunity to interrupt the still chuckling man who looked like a macabre caricature of his father. 

“Oh Itachi, you’re a bigger fool than I thought you were,” Orochimaru snickered, wiping delicately at one eye.  He sobered immediately and glared at Itachi with enough venom to make the Uchiha raise one eyebrow.

Itachi didn’t have to wait long for the inevitable second insult. 

 “It’s such a pity too; I thought you were the smart one.”

“Your chakra doesn’t work in here,” Itachi replied shortly, crossing his arms and settling his feet shoulder width apart.  “You can try to intimidate me, but you have nothing.”

“No?”  Orochimaru muttered, watching him with eyes that were still to snakelike to be fully Uchiha. 

“Let me tell you what we know,” Itachi said softly, allowing some of his anger to bleed into his tone.  To Orochimaru’s credit, he didn’t react very much.  His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and Itachi noted with some satisfaction that his muscles tensed. 

“You haven’t finished the body transfer.  That’s really quiet interesting, given that it would make things a lot easier for you,” Itachi started, gesturing at Orochimaru’s half-activated sharingan with a minute inclination of his head.  “But two chakra sources benefit you; you won’t have control over one of them very shortly.”

Orochimaru made a small sound of disbelief.  “You figured that out faster than I thought you would.”

His tone was accusing, and Itachi bit back a small smirk.  It was too easy. 

_The longer we talk, the more time that Sakura will have to take the barrier down without having to worry about him.  I don’t have enough chakra to kill him right now, but I have enough to make life very difficult for him.  It’s already been seven minutes._

_“_ Hm.  So, given that you need one chakra source over another, I’ll give you an opportunity to make a deal.”

“Well, well, well,” Orochimaru said softly; a smirk began to play around the corners of his mouth as he thought.  “Isn’t this interesting.  What could you possibly offer me?”

“Considering that you’re in no position to refuse-“

“No, I’ll hear the deal,” Orochimaru’s expression turned predatory, and he leaned forwards as far as Itachi’s trap would let him. 

“I’ll give you the scroll that you need to capture the Nine-Tails, provided that you give up the Uchiha chakra in the body that you stole,” Itachi said, slowly and deliberately, watching Orochimaru’s every move with laser-sharp focus.

Orochimaru’s expression darkened into pure hatred, but Itachi didn’t move a muscle.  He wasn’t afraid of him.  There was a small part of his mind that reminded him that he probably should be, but he was confident that his mangekyou would be enough to keep the Sannin contained.

_Come on, Sakura.  Find a way to break out of the barrier._

“You don’t know what you’re playing with,”  Orochimaru snapped, his tone deepening as he subtly attempted to break out of Itachi’s iron grip on his consciousness. 

“It’s simple.  Give me what you took, and I’ll give you what I took,” Itachi said lightly, stalking silently towards the now-struggling snake man.  “The only reason I won’t kill you right now is the fact that your chakra isn’t sealed, but I can certainly make life very unpleasant for you in the meantime.”

“You’re a fool, Itachi Uchiha-“

Itachi ignored Orochimaru’s protests.  His hand shot out and forced Orochimaru’s eyes open.  They widened with panic and fear; he didn’t pay it any mind as he compelled the mangekyou to show itself. 

Without any hesitation, he dove into Orochimaru’s half-manifested sharingan as the flowing kekkei genkai moved across the Sannin’s slitted irises. 

The genjutsu held fast, and he fell through a vast, empty nothingness.

* * *

 

His chakra manifestation landed softly, making no sound, but forcing a ripple through the knee high water that flowed gently through Fugaku’s mangekyou.  It was markedly different from his sharingan, but he wasn’t deterred by the beams of bright light that cut through the dark; strangely enough, it reminded him of something that he’d seen once with Shisui.  Unlike his shadow world, the light was dappled here, like sunlight through a forest canopy.

He stood quietly, using his chakra to search through the darkness until he found a small structure.  Intrigued, he ran towards it, ever conscious of the fact that he could only spend as much time in the mangekyou as his dwindling chakra supply would allow.

He neared the structure at last, and his brow furrowed slightly with confusion as he stepped up to it.  The Uchiha shrine’s inscription stone was the last thing in the world that he would have had expected to find in a shadow world of Fugaku’s creation. 

He reached out to draw his hand across the magnificently carved slab of marble, lost in memories from a time that felt like it could have been centuries ago.   Huffing out a deep breath, he dropped to one knee and prepared to seal the energy that swirled around him. 

_There won’t be any more Uchiha chakra to use-_

A sudden flicker of familiar chakra made Itachi freeze with his hand outstretched. 

_It can’t be-_

“Father,” Itachi murmured, watching in open astonishment as his father’s chakra thrummed powerfully through Orochimaru’s body.  Fugaku stepped quietly out of the shadows, looking straight at his son with a look so gentle that Itachi felt his heart twist in his chest. 

“You’ve done well to come here,” Fugaku said warmly, nodding in approval, “I knew that you would be able to reach me.”

“How are you here?”

Fugaku’s spectral form shrugged and shook his head, regarding Itachi with a look that reminded him strongly of Sasuke.  The man standing before him was really his father. 

“We Uchiha are stubborn.  Orochimaru made the mistake of separating his chakra reserves.  Your brother was able to retain some of his vital chakra in his sharingan, too,” he finally replied softly, striding closer to where Itachi still stood, dumbstruck.

“Father-“

“We don’t have much time.  Your chakra is depleting rapidly.  We will do everything we can to make using the sharingan a hell for Orochimaru.  You need to go and fight elsewhere.”

“We..?”  Itachi asked carefully; he was unsure whether the rapid staccato of his heartbeat was the result of fear or anticipation.  He was feeling too many emotions to parse them apart.  His mind whirled madly, ticking through anyone who could possibly be in the mangekyou with Fugaku.

There was only one person that it could be.

Fugaku simply inclined his head to Itachi’s left. 

Itachi sucked in a sharp, shocked breath as Shisui stepped out of the shadows, grinning crookedly at him as he ran a hand through his dark curls. 

“Hey.  You look like hell.”

“Shisui,” Itachi breathed, still too in shock to truly register what was happening.  “Your chakra was still in your eyes.”

“Yeah.  Kinda sucks, but at least we can help you out now, hey?” Shisui replied easily.  Itachi felt his chest tighten at the sight of his father and cousin; now that the shock was wearing off, he registered that the emotion that he was feeling was grief.

“Itachi, you need to get out of here.  We’ll distract Orochimaru and keep him away from the Uchiha chakra.  Sakura will need to use her siphoning technique to kill him.” Shisui said urgently, directing his dark gaze at Itachi. 

He noticed with some dismay that Shisui only had one of his eyes; Fugaku sported the other.  They made two halves of a whole, and that was almost too much for him to take. 

He wrestled his emotions back under control and tried to take a step towards Shisui, but his spectral limbs were frozen. 

He could already feel Shisui’s chakra flickering out of the mangekyou, enveloping him and pushing him firmly away from the Uchiha chakra still trapped within Fugaku’s body.

“Wait-“

“Hurry, Itachi.  Our chakra won’t last long in here; Orochimaru’s attempts to use the mangekyou have forced us to block him several times.  There’s only so long that we can fight against it,” Fugaku said firmly, his hand glowing with bright chakra as he took a step towards Itachi.

“There are dozens of Uchiha coming-“ Itachi heard himself say, as if from a distance.  His own voice sounded foreign to him; he wasn’t used to the note of desperation that coloured his tone, and that shook him badly. 

“They won’t be able to get close,” Shisui said firmly, flinching as dark chakra shattered the illusion far above their heads.   Tendrils of the dark, viscous energy began to inch into the Tsukuyomi, creating cracks and small fissures in the darkness as the vine-like chakra attempted to gain a stranglehold on the genjutsu. 

“Shisui-“

“I promised that I would never use this technique again, but it looks like I’m gonna have to break that rule.  If Orochimaru tries to use the sharingan, I’ll burn him from the inside out,” Shisui said cheerfully, glancing at Itachi over his shoulder as he threw up a casual wave.  “I like Sakura by the way, she’s good for ya.”

Itachi realized what Shisui’s intentions were a second too late, and as he attempted to dart forwards to stop him, Fugaku’s glowing hand clapped down on his shoulder.  He could do nothing but watch as Shisui’s mangekyou swirled across his dark eye and waves of chakra began to roll off his body.   The temperature within the genjutsu began to heat up until it was almost unbearable, and Itachi couldn’t quell the panic that rose in his system as a small black flame manifested in front of Shisui’s outstretched hand.

Fugaku smiled gently at him.  “Your place isn’t here, Itachi.  Go; salvage the mess that I’ve created.”

Before Itachi could protest, his chakra-form dissipated. 

* * *

He reappeared in front of Orochimaru’s gleefully glowing eyes, still reeling. 

Every part of his body wanted to rip Orochimaru limb from limb, but there was no point doing it in the Tsukuyomi; only Orochimaru’s physical form would take any damage.

The Sannin was already insane; it wouldn’t do any good. 

_The torture might be enjoyable to him._

The thought was acidic in his mouth. 

He resisted the urge to give into his anger and spun on his heel.  His dark hair flew out behind him as he strode several feet away from his victim.  Itachi couldn’t calm his raging heartbeat, and the all-too familiar prickling of tears behind his eyes made it difficult to focus.

Fugaku’s chakra had effectively locked him out of his sharingan; he couldn’t access it anymore, no matter how hard he threw his vital chakra towards Fugaku’s mangekyou.

His roar of frustration echoed through his own mangekyou, prompting a small chuckle from Orochimaru. 

“It’s futile,” he spat, climbing laboriously to his feet as Itachi’s murderous gaze settled upon him.  “You can’t touch my host’s chakra. It’s _mine_!”

“No, I don’t think it is,” Itachi murmured quietly, “Your left eye is bleeding.”

“ _What_?!”

Itachi released the genjutsu enough to allow Orochimaru to clap a hand to his profusely bleeding eye.  Shisui’s chakra was working.  Itachi’s impassive expression only caused Orochimaru more confusion, and he strained against the jutsu, fighting against the chakra restraints that held him more or less immobile. 

“The deal is off,” Itachi said shortly, releasing his chakra in one burst.  “I’ll be at the training grounds.  It’s past time that we end this fight.”

_That should do it.  I need to regroup._

* * *

 

Orochimaru’s consciousness returned to his physical body with a jerk, and he fell forwards onto the ground as the Uchiha chakra within Fugaku’s body began to heat up to a temperature that was unbearable.  He struggled to raise his body up on his forearms as his vision blurred and flickers of what he could only describe as black fire appeared in his peripherals.  His mouth opened in a silent howl of pain as his veins poured molten chakra through his limbs and into his heart. 

He hurriedly clasped his hands together in the tiger sign; he struggled to move his limbs around as the pain made his movements clumsy. 

Blood streamed down from his left eye, and as soon as the sealing jutsu was primed, he swiped his arm across his face, using the searing scarlet liquid to power his frantic countermove.

_Seal, damn you!_

With a hiss, his blood suddenly cooled as the jutsu took effect.  Swirling purple marks raced across his skin as he activated his senjutsu; it was the only technique that he had at his disposal that could temper the Uchiha chakra that still raged inside his system. 

His eyes throbbed with a stabbing pain that threatened to make him lose his composure, and he hurriedly forced the sharingan away from his eyes.  Immediately, the blood streaming down his face congealed, and the violent chakra ebbed away as he directed his senjutsu to contain Fugaku’s chakra within his own heart chakra. 

It pulsed and flickered, forcing Orochimaru to use a large portion of his energy just to keep it contained.  As soon as the pain had cleared, his thoughts became hyper focused; he needed to kill Itachi before the barrier came down.   Whatever Itachi had done within the mangekyou was going to affect his ability to fight; his logical brain informed him that if Itachi was dead, the effects of his genjutsu would have to dissipate. 

_Itachi.  You and I aren’t finished.   You won’t steal the sharingan from me._

He didn’t know how the hell Itachi had managed to turn the Uchiha chakra in his new body against him, and it was also in that moment that he realized that he didn’t have the scroll that was promised.  He shot to his feet, stalking towards the training grounds with murderous intent. 

Malicious chakra poured off of his body in waves.  His movements were once again smooth, his strides were as lithe as a wildcat, and his eyes were narrowed to dangerous slits.  He barely noticed the frantic stampeding of the weak little Suna and Konoha shinobi as they darted out of his way. 

The Uchiha chakra still pulsed frantically in his chest, and his muscles tightened involuntarily as a bolt of heat shot through his lungs.  He coughed, clapping a hand to his mouth.  It came away scarlet; his palm was beaded with blood. 

Rage replaced the pain winding through his body as he doubled his pace, darting away from the battle itself and towards Itachi’s promised final confrontation.  His chakra levels were dwindling faster than he’d anticipated due to Itachi’s little stunt, and as his gaze settled on a group of three shinobi who were fighting for him, he made up his mind to win, no matter the cost.

He was upon them before they even sensed his presence.  His hands shot out, twisting into gnarled claws as his chakra clamped into two of the men.  His quick mind whirred as he did so; he’d never used the ever-useful siphoning technique to supplement his own chakra, but now was as good of an opportunity as ever to attempt it. 

His split-second of surprise allowed him to secrete venom out of his pores and immobilize the two men who were already struggling to free themselves from his grip the way that a worm would wiggle frantically on a hook.  The neurotoxin worked immediately, and he sighed with satisfaction as he shot chakra into their cells, prepared to suck every last drop of power out of their unmoving bodies.

His perfect chakra control worked to his advantage as his system overpowered his unfortunate victims and sucked the vital energy out of every one of their cells. It wasn’t unlike his full-body transfer technique, and a savage grin slid over his mouth as he worked out how to most efficiently take their chakra into his body.

_Come here._

Immediately, a rush of concentrated power swept into his veins and twisted into every nook and cranny of his system.  Orochimaru barely noticed the choked screams of agony that the mercenaries wheezed out as he mercilessly took their lives.  He took a deep, euphoric breath as the chakra transfer washed away the damage from his already battered body. 

The desiccated bodies hit the ground with a thud; they were barely recognizable as human anymore.  Their withered corpses began to crumble into dust as a sudden fierce wind picked up, whipping Fugaku’s hair into Orochimaru’s eyes. 

He impatiently wiped it away and strode towards the training grounds without a second glance at the third mercenary, who was attempting to crawl away from his companions as quickly as he could. 

_Worthless, the lot of them.  I’ll save him for later._

Fugaku’s skin shone with the light of Orochimaru’s purple chakra as the flame-like marks of his senjutsu continued to swim across the surface of his epidermis.  His limbs began to swell as he fed his newly replenished chakra into his muscles; if he was going to kill Itachi, he wasn’t going to play fair. 

_You’ve gotten in my way too many times._

He didn’t need directions to the training grounds. 

* * *

 

Juugo’s breath puffed out in a panicked sigh.  He was curled up in a ball in the corner of the room that he’d shared with Shizune and Gaara.  His heartbeat thundered in his ears, and his emotions rioted so violently that it was all he could do to hold onto his non-cursed form. 

The darkness bubbled through his chest, threatening to overflow and consume him.  He forced himself to calm his heartbeat as Shizune knelt down next to him. 

Hot, salty tears streamed down his face as he raised his head to look her in the eye.  Her face wore an expression of such pity and understanding that he felt his heart twist; he had to look away, he couldn’t take the guilt that pulsed in his belly. 

“Juugo,” Shizune murmured, laying a gentle hand on his shoulder.  He didn’t even feel it, but his ears pricked up as the soft, soothing tone that she used brought him slowly, but surely, back down from the terrified niche where he’d taken refuge. 

“Come on, I need to help Tsunade-sama heal the injured.  You’re going to come with me and help, okay?”

He nodded slowly, finally able to suck in a full breath of air as the constricted muscles around his chest released. 

“I’m so sorry, Shizune,” he whispered, laboriously climbing to his feet, “The curse marks are all my fault-“

“No, they aren’t,” she said firmly, planting one hand on her hip, “You were used as badly as any of the other test subjects.  That’s what Orochimaru does; he _uses_ people to get what he wants.  The best thing that you can do is help me to undo the damage that he’s caused here.” 

“I feel so useless,” he muttered, flushing a deep shade of red that clashed magnificently with his fiery hair, “I should be out there fighting.”

“You didn’t kill anyone,” Shizune reminded him, turning to pry the warped metal door to the room open. “And you’re in no shape to fight right now.  If you push yourself too hard, you won’t be able to help when you are needed.”

“There’s nothing that I could do against all of those monsters, you mean.”

She shot him a look that was as piercing as he’d ever seen.  “Right.  It’s a suicide mission if you go out there, and I didn’t save your life just so you could throw it away!”   

“Okay,” he agreed softly.

She sighed.  “Is there anything that you know that can help us?”

“I don’t think so,” he admitted miserably.  

“Well we’re on the same wavelength then,” she said firmly, leading out of the room. 

He let out a small, humorless laugh, absently rubbing the spot on his shoulder that was still numb from Sakura’s poisoned kunai-

_Wait._

“Shizune, I _do_ know something that can help,” he blurted, gesturing at his injured shoulder blade.  “Sakura hit me with a poisoned kunai when I accidentally killed Kabuto, and it’s still numb!”

“Okay…?” She asked slowly, raising one eyebrow with confusion as they trotted down the hallway. 

Juugo was almost too excited to notice the legion of slugs that crawled along the length of the corridor, oozing up the walls and popping out of view as they squished themselves under patient doors as the sealing jutsu ebbed away.  Shizune’s hands glowed with chakra as she undid the rest of the seals on the doors, allowing them access.

“So, the poison is super concentrated.  I’m pretty sure that she got it from when Orochimaru kidnapped her, so he’s immune,” Juugo continued; a grin spread across his somber expression as his mind ticked quickly over what he knew.

“I don’t see how that’s helpful..?”  Shizune murmured, grimacing as she turned her attention to removing debris from in front of an intensive care unit.  Ignoring his injuries, Juugo moved a large, jagged hunk of concrete from the door with one hand.

“So- Orochimaru’s immunity to the poison ended when he took a new body. _Fugaku_ isn’t immune, so Sakura can use that to pin him down long enough to seal him!”  He finished triumphantly, hoping fiercely that she would see where he was going with this. 

Her eyes widened.

_Phew._

“Juugo, we need to tell her!”

Her hand flew up to her com, and she spoke into it.  “Sakura, do you still have a poisoned kunai that you used on Juugo?”

Sakura’s reply was immediate.  Juugo could hear the sound of thundering, armoured feet somewhere close to her, and the acid tang of guilt rose in his throat.

_“Yeah I do.  I’ve still got the poison-“_

She cut off suddenly, cracking back across the frequency a few seconds later.  _“-why?”_

“Fugaku’s not immune to it,” Shizune said bluntly, darting a glance at Juugo, who was still standing rigidly beside her.  “Juugo says that his shoulder is still numb.”

_“What?!  I thought that it failed-“_

Juugo’s eyebrows shot upwards as she cut out again. 

_“-I’m a little busy here, but thank you!”_

Shizune nodded with satisfaction and bustled into the newly cleared door, gesturing emphatically for Juugo to join her.  “Okay, Juugo.  You’ve found a way to help them.  Now, are you ready to focus and help me save as many people as we can?”

A flicker of warmth flared to life in his chest, and he nodded quickly, making his hair flap wildly around his face.

* * *

 

Itachi’s eyes snapped open.  He stood smoothly, not bothering to glance at the corpses around him as he quickly ascended to the surface. 

_Sakura’s going to need backup.  At least we know where Orochimaru’s going to be._

He deliberately moved the dial on his com, choosing a specific frequency and speaking gently into the microphone. 

“Hokage-sama, Kakashi-sama, Orochimaru will be at the training grounds shortly.  His sharingan is disabled, for now.”

_“Well done, Uchiha.”_


	42. Frequencies Part III

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohohoho okay I'm so sorry for the delay in posting, so here's two chapters in one day! :D xx

 “What the hell..?”  Sakura whispered slowly, her eyes widening as she realized what she was seeing.  Her hand fell off the transmission button on her com, falling to her side as hopelessness and fear began to twist through her veins.  The hope that had bloomed in her chest at Shizune’s radio message withered and died as the dome’s chakra signature changed, becoming darker and more purposeful. 

The dome was _reacting_ to the test subjects, rippling and bubbling with power as it responded to their presence.  Those closest to the barrier began to glow with the same violet sheen of Orochimaru’s chakra, and her heart leapt into her throat as their armour thickened and their bodies grew several inches taller. 

The dome was feeding power into their bodies, doubling their attacking power and making it exponentially harder to pierce their carapaces. 

She watched, frozen with horror and revulsion as the cloudy, glasslike surface of the dome began to glow.  The panicked moans and screams of the test subjects intensified, and she glanced upwards as a wave of sand flowed past them, entrapping the test subjects within its deadly embrace.    

Gaara practically flew past them, pulling sand from the ground to fuel his rapidly expanding pen.  He nearly let out a grunt of effort as the test subjects began to fight within the sand prison that flowed around their bodies and held them fast. 

**“Help!”**

**“Please, don’t let us die-“**

**“He’s going to kill us if we don’t succeed-“**

**“We have to-“**

**“- I have to kill you-“**

**“- and the Nine-Tails!”**

Sakura’s blood ran cold as she clued into what was happening.  Her heart felt like it was going to explode as her mind finally ticked over Orochimaru’s plan.  She flung a lightning-fast arm out to stop Naruto, who had suddenly tensed in preparation for what she assumed was a suicidal rescue attempt. 

“Naruto, whatever you do, do not touch the dome,” she said coldly, fighting with everything she had to keep from falling apart. 

Orochimaru was using her siphoning jutsu.  He’d managed to reverse-engineer its ability to pull vital chakra out of a victim or patient and had weaponized it in a way that she hadn’t thought possible.  He’d wanted them to use the test subjects to try and break the dome.

_That bastard.  He wants us to kill them to save ourselves.  It’s a ploy to kill as many people as possible and deplete the chakra of the survivors.  If we get too close to the dome when it’s reacting to the mutations, we’ll die._

“What the hell is happening?”  Naruto growled, looking at her out of the corner of his eye, “What aren’t you tellin’ me?  They’re dying!”

“He’s using the jutsu that I taught Kabuto,” she replied hollowly, still too shocked to feel anything other than panic and revulsion.  “It’s a death sentence for any of us to get close to it.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means that Orochimaru is using my technique to make the barrier stronger.  If he’s calibrated the jutsu to recognize his chakra and output energy, he’s definitely got it prepared to suck in any Tailed beast chakra that it comes into contact with,” she said firmly, gritting her teeth to keep her emotions at bay. 

“Gaara!  You have to stay away from the barrier; it’s engineered to recognize tailed beast chakra!”  Neji called hoarsely, darting forwards and putting his body between Naruto and the still-shimmering dome. 

“Naruto, you should get out of here,” Hinata said firmly, mirroring Neji’s defensive stance.  “It’s not safe for you.”

“It’s not safe for any of us!” He returned sharply, clearly fighting against the urge to help the still screaming test subjects.

Sakura glanced at Hinata and tapped her com, communicating that it was time for her to call in her teammates. 

“Naruto, stand by.  As soon as I punch that horrible thing down, you can get out there,” Sakura said softly, hoping that she sounded infinitely more confident than she felt.  Her chakra rioted in her veins, and she allowed more power to wash through her system as she stared defiantly at the dome. 

“How are you gonna punch it down?”  Naruto demanded, whirling to face her, “You said that it’s a death sentence-“

“I’ve got nearly as much chakra as you do right now,” she reminded him sharply, glaring at him with a pleading intensity that he’d never seen from her before, “It’s Tsunade-sama’s technique.  I adjusted it to fit my needs, and now it’s my fault that Orochimaru can use it.  It’s my mess to fix.”

“Still, Sakura, you need help,” Hinata added, inclining her head towards her sister.  “If you can get the barrier vibrating where you need it, we can point you to where the chakra is weakest.  Then Shino will come in.”

Neji’s expression rapidly changed from cautious to surprised, and then to bewilderment, all in the span of a few seconds.  He nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing as he inspected his cousin.  Sakura would have recognized the look in his eye anywhere; Hinata had earned his respect. 

“You can?”  Sakura’s eyebrows shot upwards as she considered Hinata’s point.  “I didn’t know that the byakugan could do something like that.”

Hinata flushed, and Sakura realized that she didn’t know either. 

“Right, okay,” she continued, as if she hadn’t just poked a giant hole in Hinata’s genius theoretical strategy.  “I need you to get this barrier moving at the right frequency, and we’ll use that to free the test subjects-“

Naruto’s muttered oath did nothing to put her mind as ease as she stared at the barrier. 

“Do you have a better idea?”  She shot at him, annoyed that he couldn’t just take her word at face value.

“Not to be rude, but we’d better move fast,” Gaara yelled; his voice was muffled by the amplified attacks of the test subjects on his constantly shifting sand prison.  “There are too many of them, I can’t hold them all here for long, and we’re going to have a problem if they start tunnelling.”

_Shit._

_I don’t have a choice.  I can use the same technique to attack that barrier directly and take it down.  But, I’m going to need help._

She took a deep breath.  “Get Kiba and Shino here.  We can’t wait any longer.”

“They’re already here,” was the soft response.  Sakura’s head snapped over to her left, where Hinata’s teammates were emerging from the forest.  She shot a surprised glance over at Hinata, who let out an uncharacteristically nonchalant shrug and raised her hand.

 On her finger stood a tiny bug, who quivered in the sudden fierce wind that picked up around them as the swirling chakra around the test subjects began to rotate faster.  Sakura shoved her hair out of her face and grinned.

“Good.  Kiba, can you tell us what kind of frequency we’re dealing with?”  She called, indicating the barrier with a jerk of her head. 

_Right on time.  Let’s get this dome down._

“It’s high,” Kiba replied, raising his voice to be heard over the din of the still-raging test subjects, “Akamaru’s having a hard time with the sand flowing around, but he said that it’s somewhere around twenty thousand Hertz.”

Akamaru barked his agreement and wagged his massive tail.  A sudden thunderous explosion made them all whirl around in alarm, but Gaara waved away their concern as yet another measure of sand made its flowing, slithering way across the ever-shifting sand barrier that housed over a hundred enraged mutants. 

Sakura resisted the urge to let out a quiet whistle of appreciation.

Gaara was doing a marvellous job of keeping them contained, but Sakura knew that they needed to work fast.  She was of half a mind to tell Gaara to herd the test subjects in another direction, but she was worried that they wouldn’t be able to shatter the chakra structures that had taken over their bodies like a virus if they moved too far away from the dome.  She darted a glance at Neji, whose byakugan pulsed powerfully in his forehead. 

Now more than ever, she needed his advice. 

“What do you suggest we do?”  She asked, fighting the urge to chew her lip with worry. 

“If we can replicate the frequency, we should be able to crack the chakra structures that hold the whole thing together.  Start by shaking the dome from a distance, we don't know how it will react to foreign chakra.”

“Have I ever told you that you’re brilliant?”  Sakura muttered, shaking her head with awe.  

“No, but you’re welcome to start now,” Neji replied, jogging over to where Gaara still stood partially suspended in the air by a column of sand.

Gaara greeted him with a firm nod, and his eyes narrowed slightly as Neji said something to him, too quiet for Sakura to hear. 

With a wave of his hand, Gaara unleashed another wave of sand from the hard-packed ground below them and created a half-sphere that enclosed their ranks.  Sakura could hear everything, even Akamaru’s near-silent panting as the sand created the ideal environment for an echo chamber. 

_Holy shit._

Her mind ticked quickly over possibilities, and she quickly settled on starting the vibrations through the ground.  She wasn’t ready to attack the barrier directly; there was no way to know if it would hurt her the second that she approached it with her chakra, it was better to weaken it first.  Without hesitating, she drove a large measure of chakra into her fist and dropped her center of gravity, striking the ground with the force of three shinobi. 

As she’d expected that it would, the ground trembled violently before the bedrock underneath the topsoil layer shattered under the force of her blow.  The ground depressed as the chakra that still shimmered around her fist exploded outwards in a concussion blast, whipping up another fierce wind as the energy shot straight towards the dome. 

The earth buckled as she withdrew her fist.  She watched with bated breath as the vibrations reached the dome, and it let out a screech as it trembled in time with the aftershocks.  Immediately, Akamaru whined and began to bark, signalling to Kiba that they weren’t there yet. 

“Sakura, we’re gonna need more power!  That wasn’t enough to get it vibrating high enough; we’re gonna need another ten thousand hertz of power at least.”

Sakura swore, fluently and enthusiastically as she primed her fist with a larger measure of chakra.  She’d hoped to save as much energy as possible for the final battle, but she was determined to break down the barrier. 

_I can supplement later.  Just do what you need to do!  The test subjects are going to have to die if I can’t disrupt the jutsu!_

The second explosion made the dome oscillate so hard that Sakura had to clap her hands over her ears as the test subjects let out agonized shrieks of pain.  The echoic half-sphere of sand that Gaara had created only made it harder to concentrate through the tooth-rattling vibration of the small earthquake that she’d caused. 

“Sakura, it’s vibrating at the right frequency!”  Kiba roared over the noise, gesturing wildly to get her attention. "Do what you gotta do to keep it there!" 

“Go, Shino!”  Hinata called, pointing at a spot in the dome that was about shoulder height for Sakura.  “The chakra’s pulsing hard there!”

_Fuck it._

Sakura darted forwards, letting chakra bloom from her hands as she slammed it directly into the surface of the barrier. 

The resulting note was so loud and resonated at such a high-frequency that she felt her left eardrum burst.  She gasped loudly from the pain and immediately allowed her augmented chakra to flow into the damaged meatus, repairing it from the inside out as she used the second stage of the jutsu to force her chakra against the barrier. 

Sakura ignored the blood that dripped out of her ear as Orochimaru’s jutsu vibrated so hard that her bones felt like they were going to shatter from the force. 

She was forced to take a half-step back and snatch her hands back; it was too much for her body to take without activating another stage of the jutsu and attacking the barrier at the same time that it attacked her. 

_Stage one is tapping from another source.  Stage two is using chakra outside the body as a weapon.  Stage three is vital chakra disruption and absorption.  Stage four is long-distance vital chakra siphoning._

_Let’s hope that I don’t have to use the fourth stage._

The barrier shimmered and began to let off pulses of chakra, rapidly thinning as they watched with interest. 

Sakura concentrated, activating the third stage of her siphoning jutsu.   _I haven’t used this yet.  Hopefully it’ll be enough to break through!_

She bit her lip, trying to concentrate through the sudden pain that shot up her arms as she took a deep breath and slammed them back onto the surface of the dome. Her bones protested from the impact, but she forced herself to breathe through the discomfort. 

The jutsu reacted instantly to her presence, and she snatched her hands back again to ready the next stage. The viscous chakra of the barrier came with her hands, sticking like glue as she lifted them away, and she nearly gasped with surprise and agony at it continued to attack her.

 It felt like her hands were being slashed with dozens of small knives, but she continued through the hand signs, her anger feeding her determination. 

Without hesitating any longer, she put her hands back on the barrier, ignoring the tiny energy strikes that assaulted her.  She could see her skin shimmering with chakra, forming a protective barrier between her and her target; her body was on autopilot, protecting her from the force that sought to destroy her. 

It hardened without any conscious thought, and she was suddenly very glad that she’d activated her seal.  The chakra that thrummed through her body healed any damage that the barrier was able to inflict.

She’d never felt more powerful in her life. 

_Let’s go!_

She attacked, sending chakra tendrils into the barrier and yanking chakra out from the very atoms that held it together.   She stepped back slowly, dragging the energy with her.  As soon as she had enough to work with, she pulled hard and separated the chakra into a sluggishly spinning orb.  Without waiting for it to get away from her, she released the third stage of the jutsu and slammed the sphere of pure energy back into the dome, intent on using the same energy that she’d stolen from the barrier to weaken it.

The third stage of the jutsu wasn’t one that he could have prepared for.  The fourth stage was likely to kill her, but she didn’t care.  Sakura was determined to use Orochimaru’s chakra against him.

_Release!_

The barrier trembled from the force of the blow, letting out a mournful tone that cut through their ears, forcing them to clap their hands to their heads.  A long, jagged crack appeared within the surface of the dome, sending a sound that felt like needles straight through their bodies. 

Sakura bit back a silent shriek of pain, fighting hard against the vibrations that threatened to send them flying.  Her head felt like it was about to burst, and she frantically fed chakra into her eardrums to protect them.  From a distance, she heard buzzing. 

 _That’ll be the bugs_ , she thought grimly, forcing chakra back into her hands once more as she slammed her glowing palms back into the barrier for good measure.

The resulting scream from the rapidly-weakening jutsu was par for the course at this point, and she determinedly formed a chakra shield around her eardrums and cushioned her bones from snapping against one another as the resulting energy blast shook her so hard that she nearly fell over. 

The buzzing from the bugs was nearly as loud as the energy bouncing along the surface of the barrier, and she gritted her teeth as it got louder.  She couldn’t help but feel uneasy at the sound of thousands of wings. 

She knew that their enemies were pacing on the other side of the dome.  She could see, through the filmy surface of the jutsu that several squad leaders were directing Orochimaru’s forces towards the city, steering them away from Kankuro and Temari’s bedraggled fighting force. 

She breathed a sigh of relief.  Her thoughts flashed back to Itachi, and she silently thanked him.  _Whatever he did, it helped._  

“Shino, go!”

A huge black swarm of insects moved as one towards the barrier.  Sakura watched, rapt, as their wings vibrated with enough force to create the same vibration as the dome.  As they landed on the surface of the sphere, the vibrations escalated, forcing the ground to shake slightly.  As she watched, tiny pebbles rose from the dirt and wobbled in the air, moving with the tremors that threatened to rattle her teeth. 

_It’s working!_

The chakra that made up the barrier began to shine and oscillate.  As the tone that still forced her team to their knees began to fade away, she pressed her hand to her com.  To her annoyance, it wasn't working due to the interference from the dome.  She decided to yell at the top of her lungs instead.  

“Shino, can the bugs keep it coming?”

“Yes, they should be able to,” he called back, louder than she'd ever heard him.  If she wasn't in grave danger, she might have laughed at the absurdity of the situation. 

“If I attack the source directly again, the dome will collapse,” she said firmly, hoping against all hope that she sounded more confident than she felt.  “Use the frequency; we need you to match it, exactly.  It'll shatter when I attack it again.”

"Are you sure?  They can go higher.”

“No, but Neji said that if it’s weakened, it should be vulnerable to attack.”

“Do you have any Uchiha chakra to use?  If this plan fails, we’ll need something that can attack the Susanoo-”

Sakura made a split second decision to lie.  She needed to keep her trump card close to her vest in case she needed it later. 

“No, but we’ve got a whole clan fighting with us, I think.”

She adjusted her walkie-talkie and hit the button once again.  It didn't work. 

_Someone else will be able to get in contact with Sasuke and Itachi.  Focus._

She returned her attention to the dome.    

Her body felt like it was going to fall apart, but she determinedly moved closer and fed more chakra into her muscles and bones to strengthen them. 

As if on cue, a wave of Uchiha shinobi moved over the rooftops of Konoha half a mile away, spreading out over the city like a ripple spreading across the surface of a still pond.  Sakura grinned in triumph as she spotted Sasuke at the forefront with her chakra-sharpened eyes, leading his clan members to spread out across the rooftops that looked directly out onto the dome.  They were followed by dozens of other Konoha shinobi led by Shikamaru and Kakashi. 

She didn’t need to see Sasuke’s fighters up close to know that there were close to a hundred sharingans trained on the barrier. That thought was comforting, and with a firm nod (she knew that she was in Shino’s sightline), she gestured for Shino to make sure that the vibrations continued at the same frequency. 

As soon as she was satisfied that the barrier was vibrating hard enough, she stepped back half a foot.  

"Kiba, are we good?" 

"Yeah, keep it there!"

She darted a glance to the side, hoping against all hope that what she was about to do would work. 

The barely-noticeable, frantic escape attempts of the test subjects inside Gaara’s sand prison made her heart ache, but she forced her mind back to the matter at hand.

The vibrations were painful at this point, and she prepared one last measure of chakra.  Her right arm began to glow as the energy twisted through her muscles and veins, igniting a chakra blade that was as tall as she was. 

Calmly, she stalked towards the wall of shimmering energy and adjusted her grip on the weapon.  She fought down a pang of nervous energy; she only had one shot at this, and she couldn’t afford to lose her cool. 

Sakura slammed the point of the blade into the surface of the dome, forcing chakra through it with enough force to create a tiny crack.  

Her incoherent roar of effort was lost in the din of the dome as the entire structure let out a long, wavering note.  Sakura used her strength to press harder, driving the point of the chakra sword into the weakest point on the barrier.  It began to writhe and bubble as her chakra drove into the space between the atoms of the structure, slowly prying it apart from the inside as tiny cracks began to radiate across the surface. 

The oily, viscous chakra that oozed out of the fissures glowed violently with rapidly dissipating energy as she twisted the blade, opening a larger hole.  Finally, when the dome had stopped screeching, Sakura took ten steps backwards, concentrated hard, drew her arm back, and with a roar of effort, punched the weakened surface with all of her might. 

With a thunderous boom, the barrier shattered. 

 


End file.
